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Mad March Days

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (17)
Measurements in:
Serves:
1
Ingredients
1 fl oz Bourbon whiskey
1 fl oz Single malt Scotch whisky (Speyside)
34 fl oz Amaro (e.g. Meletti)
14 fl oz Becherovka liqueur

How to make

Glass

Photographed in an UB Koto Old Fashioned 30cl

Prepare

  1. Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

Method

  1. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  2. STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish

  1. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Mad March Days contains 218 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 2 standard drinks
  • 31.1% alc./vol. (62.2° proof)
  • 28 grams of pure alcohol

History

Adapted from a recipe created late-2023/early 2024 by Ross Simmonds at the St. Edwards MCR, Oxford, England. Ross is known to recite the poetry of John Masefield with a cocktail in hand and this cocktail was inspired by a poem called Cargoes which the development of ships and their cargos over the centuries. Ross' original recipe is based on 60ml (2oz) Jura single malt Scotch whisky (Bourbon Cask).


Cargoes
Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.

Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus,
Dipping through the Tropics by the palm-green shores,
With a cargo of diamonds,
Emeralds, amethysts,
Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores.

Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack,
Butting through the Channel in the mad March days,
With a cargo of Tyne coal,
Road-rails, pig-lead,
Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays.

John Masefield, Ballads, 1903

Review

Delicately bittersweet herbal whisk(e)y served old-fashioned style.

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$3.40 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 12.5 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


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* May not include all ingredients. Price per cocktail is an estimate based on cost of one cocktail with ingredients shown above and does not include shipping.

Gallery

Comments & Discussion

Matt Premium Member
Very nice whiskey old-fashioned variant (or double old-fashioned variant). I think Becherovka is uncommon in many home bars, but what this cocktail teaches you is that 1) pick whiskey(y)s that you like (single malt, blended, bourbon, rye, whatever) and a nice amaro/liqueur to sweeten and spice up the cocktail. I make as directed, but I think it would have been delicious with many other whiskeys and amaro/liqueurs (although the flavor profile would bend differently in each combo). So don't worry about using single malt Speyside or bourbon - if you have a blended scotch and a rye (that you like) I think you'll enjoy the cocktail.
score: 1
Peter M Premium Member
I made this with Wild Turkey "91" bourbon (50/50 blend of 101 and 81), Speyburn 10 year, Meletti amaro, & Becherovka. A little sweet at the front of each sip, with a little bitterness (that doesn't linger for too long) on the back-end. While this is certainly boozy "on paper", it's surprisingly smooth. I suppose this could vary depending on the bourbon and Speyside, but with the ingredients that I used, I'd maybe drop the boozy rating down to an 8 or 7, and maybe drop the sweet/dry/sour scale all the way down to a 5?! Overall, a very nice drink, made with a unique combination of ingredients that are also not too "exotic"/hard-to-find.
score: 0
Bill and Audrey Kopp
Very tasty. Could be a nice introduction for amaro novitiates. We used blended Scotch because it was handy (and because -- for first try of this recipe -- we didn't want to "waste" single malt on a drink we might not like).
score: 2

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Difford’s Shop logo
$3.40 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 12.5 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


Orders are processed by a licensed Fulproof retailer. The buy now button is added simply for convenience.

Checkout

* May not include all ingredients. Price per cocktail is an estimate based on cost of one cocktail with ingredients shown above and does not include shipping.