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Revolver
Posted: July 18, 2026
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About
The Revolver is a modern classic bourbon cocktail created in 2004 by bartender Jon Santer at Bruno's in San Francisco — and later made famous at Bourbon & Branch, the city's legendary speakeasy-style bar. Named after the Beatles' album after a spirited debate at the bar about the group's best record, it's a drink as cool as its origin story. The formula is almost deceptively simple: bourbon, a splash of coffee liqueur, and orange bitters, stirred and strained, finished with a flamed orange peel whose caramelized oils drift across the surface. The result is deeply bourbon-forward but enriched with a subtle coffee sweetness and citrus aromatics that transform it from a stripped-down Old Fashioned into something more complex and layered. Difford's Guide ranks it among the world's essential cocktails, and cocktail enthusiasts who discover it invariably wonder why it took them so long. The Revolver is proof that the best cocktails often have the fewest ingredients.
Instructions
- Pre-chill a Nick & Nora glass or coupe by filling it with ice water while you prepare the drink.
- Combine bourbon, coffee liqueur, and orange bitters in a mixing glass. Add the optional rich simple syrup if you prefer a slightly sweeter drink.
- Fill the mixing glass with ice and stir for 30 seconds until well chilled and properly diluted.
- Discard the ice from your chilled glass, then fine strain the cocktail into it.
- Cut a coin-sized disc of orange peel. Hold it skin-side out over the surface of the cocktail, about 6 inches above the glass, with a lit match or lighter in front of it. Pinch the peel sharply to express the oils through the flame — they'll ignite briefly and spray a mist of toasted citrus over the drink.
- Drop the spent orange peel into the glass as garnish and serve immediately.