Haystack Cocktail

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (129 ratings)

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 oz Bourbon whiskey
56 oz Gentian liqueur (e.g. Suze, Salers etc)
12 oz Luxardo Apricot Albicocca Liqueur
12 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

  1. Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of dried apricot.

How to make:

  1. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  2. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish:

  1. Garnish with dried apricot on rim.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 8/10

Review:

Zesty, bittersweet and sweet 'n' sour, this Haystack will make you salivate – a tasty bittersweet & sour aperitivo. John didn't specify a garnish and although a dried apricot doesn't particularly suit the name, it goes well with the drink (which incidentally we prefer served on-the-rocks).

View readers' comments

History:

Created in 2017 by John Barraclough, London, England, who describes his drink as "a yellow version of Sam Ross's Paper Plane" that has "the perfume of a hayfield in late summer."

Nutrition:

One serving of Haystack Cocktail contains 152 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.2 standard drinks
  • 19.9% alc./vol. (19.9° proof)
  • 16.9 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

Join the discussion

Showing 10 of 15 comments for Haystack Cocktail.
See discussion in the Forum

Please log in to make a comment
Loz Horner ’s Avatar Loz Horner
2nd August at 16:14
God yes. Dial down the suze and dial up the apricot brandy. It’s astringent. But good.
John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
29th July at 15:25
Yes, I did stir and serve on a Rock. Found this one tricky to balance, ended up adding a touch more apricot liqueur (what a sacrifice) and bourbon to roughly 40ml. No apricot garnish to hand so used a Cara orange wheel (kind of half way to a blood Orange) and was very happy. Ultimately inspired by Last Word but nothing like it. The Suze takes it vaguely in the direction of a white negroni - a white boulevardier?!? Very delicious either way.
John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
2nd August at 15:50
Retried: shook and served on a Rock. Delicious and highly moreish. Could easily sink a couple in a row. Keep ‘em wanting more.
Florian Ruf’s Avatar Florian Ruf
26th June at 16:42
Tried this cocktail stirred (I know ...) and found the Suze a bit too dominant. Next time I will try to balance it better in relations to bourbon. Simon's idea to serve it on the rocks might be perfect.
John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
29th July at 15:26
Yeah I bumped up both bourbon and apricot.
Howard Griffin’s Avatar Howard Griffin
27th May at 04:51
I used Salers which definitely brought this cocktail down to earth.
Andrew Gelb’s Avatar Andrew Gelb
12th January 2024 at 02:54
Excellent and complex, we really like it. I use a full 1 measure of the Suze. Cheers!
Andrew Gelb’s Avatar Andrew Gelb
24th April at 19:59
And now, with a little passage of time, I think the slightly less than 1 part Suze works better. Once again, Simon proves correct!
Charl Engela’s Avatar Charl Engela
23rd August 2023 at 23:01
Really nice drink. I was tired after a long drive so I made this on the rocks in a 2:1:1:1 ratio (bourbon being 2) direct in the glass with big ice and stirred. Lovely. Quite sour in this ratio but both apricot and gentian are noticeable in the mix. A keeper.
Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
26th October 2022 at 01:02
Tastes great with Salers. Think I'll bump it back up to 30ml next time. Also try a dusting of nutmeg.
Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
23rd July at 00:35
Out of bourbon, only 18ml of JD; made up the difference with Laird's bottled in bond apple brandy. Not bad! (Salers 16%)
Dee Stump’s Avatar Dee Stump
26th May 2022 at 03:24
I was 5ml's short on lemon juice and thought to add 5ml's of bottled yuzu. The Suze and Yuzu gave a flavor honestly identical to eating a raw habanero. Herbal, fruity, and floral. A beautiful accident I must say.
Nathalie O'Flynn’s Avatar Nathalie O'Flynn
25th April 2022 at 15:41
Made this today but should have read the comments first. I found it too bitter but perhaps could try this again and reduce the Suze. Perhaps add a bit of sugar syrup
Calvin Grant’s Avatar Calvin Grant
23rd November 2021 at 02:44
This cocktail is fantastic! I love Suze.