Towel Day

Fans of the late, great Douglas Adams, creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, will today be celebrating his work. And they do this by carrying

Foraging for Nettles (May to October)

The humble, ubiquitous stinging nettle is much underrated, but this truly useful plant can bring wonderful herbaceous, grassy and earthy flavours to drinks.

Royal Oak Distillery

With the capacity to produce two million litres of pure alcohol (6 million bottles) annually, Royal Oak is Ireland's sixth largest distillery and was the

Queen's Jubilee Martini

Classically a three-equal parts Perfect Martini is called the Queen. My Jubilee rendition of a Queen Martini uses Dubonnet Red (said to be one of the Queen's

Gabriel Boudier Nori Seaweed Liqueur

Released in April 2022, Gabriel Boudier Nori Seaweed Liqueur is made by individually infusing dried Nori and Dulse seaweed in beet neutral alcohol for

Wildest Redhead

A honeyed Whisky Sour with allspice and a rich cherry base.

Fleur de Paradis

Sparkling wine charged elderflower gin with a freshening touch of grapefruit and lemon juice acidity.

Red Apple Manhattan

A calvados-based Red Hook. It has a touch of apple but a bit less bite than Vincenzo Errico's bottled-in-bond rye whiskey-based original.

20 best Honey cocktails

Honey predates sugar as a sweetener and is a delicious alternative to sugar to balance citrus in sour cocktails, particularly when flavoursome raw honey

Pink Frozen Margarita

A bittersweet Frozen Margarita. While you're at it, double the recipe and make two!

Green Deacon

Actually, a shade of orange-red rather than green, the name is a reference to the absinthe in this unusual combination of ingredients. The absinthe-rinse

Never Never Distilling Co.

Now an iconic Aussie gin, loved for its boldness and personality, Never Never Distilling was founded in a 16sqm garage by three mates – Tim Boast, George

Old Fashioned Cocktail

Other mixed drinks pre-date the Old Fashioned but The Old-Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail, to give it its' full name, is considered the original cocktail with

Mad Monk Monkey

Monkey 47 tops a mad list of ingredients with a Monastic liqueur also influencing the name of this gin-laced herbal sour.

Monkey Business

Stop monkeying around and have a sip of this gin-forward banana summery cocktail.

Pallini Crema di Limoncello

This cream limoncello from Pallini is dairy-free, lactose-free, vegan and is made only using Amalfi Coast lemons. Serve chilled &/or over ice.

Difford's Guide, established 6th May 1997

Our little company has turned 25 years old. So to the drinks brands that sponsor us and all those of you who've subscribed, bought our books, purchased

The Cabinet Room

So named due to my glassware collection housed in 29 polished steel, glass-fronted, antique medical cabinets, most of the biggest names in bartending over

Dolce Vita Aperitivo

Launched as a new addition to the Bepi Tosolini family in March 2022, Aperitivo Dolce Vita is based on a vermouth flavoured with an infusion of herbs and

Light-struck

Light is as damaging to beer, wine and delicate liqueurs as oxygen and heat. Brown glass offers almost total protection, at least against short-term or

Margarita cocktail

Classically a margarita consists of 2 parts tequila, 1 part triple sec liqueur and 1 part lime juice. This tends to produce a drink which is a tad on the

20 best Mezcal cocktails

Mezcal is often used to add a touch of its distinctive lightly smoky character to cocktails based on other spirits particularly tequila. However, it's

20 best Tequila cocktails

With its earthy herbaceous flavours, tequila makes for both a versatile and characterful base spirit in cocktails. Contemporary pairings with tequila include

Difford's 20 best cocktails

Over the past 25 years I've made the 5,000 cocktails I've uploaded to this website and along the way I've created some 600 of my own cocktail recipes -