Charlie Chaplin cocktail recipe

The Charlie Chaplin is an old-timey cocktail that’s been popular ever since launching on to the scene, much like its famous namesake. The drink has a beautiful ruby-red colour, thanks to the use of sloe gin, and a rich, slightly syrupy texture that is balanced by the tartness of lime. 

Coined for the actor and filmmaker best known for his contribution to silent film and his slapstick comedy, this drink is part of the Pre-Prohibition era family of cocktails. Pre-Prohibition is classified as the years between 1860 and 1920, when Charlie Chaplin was a fixture for people imbibing at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. The cocktail was eventually featured in A.S Crockett’s The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book, published in 1934, with other cocktails from this era including the iconic classic Martini, and the Sloe Gin Fizz, which, unsurprisingly, also uses sloe gin.

Sloe gin, which is technically a liqueur, has been around for almost as long as gin itself, dating back to the 18th century. It was originally produced cheaply and had a reputation as a poor man’s port, but has improved vastly since then. It’s made by soaking sloe berries – which are bitter, blueish black in colour, and actually part of the plum family – in gin, with some added sugar to balance out their tartness.  

Though the Charlie Chaplin is certainly one of the lesser-known cocktails of modern times, it’s well worth seeking out the ingredients to mix one up. Pop on a jazz record, and with each sip think back to a time gone by.

To balance the flavours here, it’s best to use a high-quality apricot brandy. It’s traditionally distilled from apricot in the same way a regular brandy is distilled from grapes, with the sweetness coming from the fruit without any additional sugar. If the word liqueur is used on the bottle you’re using, it likely means artificial sweeteners have been added. You can still use it – just possibly use a little less if you don’t like your cocktails too sweet. You can also increase the amount of lime juice to suit your tastes.

There are plenty of options available these days when it comes to sloe gin. Though the sloe berry is native to England, many Australian distilleries are now producing delicious sloe gin, with the sloe berry blackthorn plant growing wild in Tasmania, thanks to early English colonists who, upon settling, planted the trees to create a sense of home. So, try a bottle from our own shores, or venture further abroad to a British producer – the choice is yours. Just remember, with a cocktail that only has a few ingredients like the Charlie Chaplin, the sloe gin is a starring feature, so go for mid-shelf or higher.

You could also mix things up by trying a different flavoured berry-ish gin in your Charlie Chaplin, like the popular shiraz gins, or perhaps a blackcurrant-infused option. Even a legend has to evolve with the times, right?