Banana Calling

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (166 ratings)

Glass:

Photographed in an Urban Bar Retro Optic Coupette 15cl

Ingredients:
1 13 fl oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
13 fl oz Giffard Banane du Brésil liqueur
14 fl oz Lustau Jarana Fino Sherry
23 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
14 fl oz Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water, 65.0°Brix)
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

  1. Select and pre-chill a NICK & NORA GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of dried banana chip or fresh banana slice.

How to make:

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

Garnish:

  1. Garnish with dried banana chip pegged to rim, or fresh banana slice on the rim.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 6/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10
Cocktail of the day:

23rd February 2026 is Banana Bread Day

Review:

This short, sharp cocktail is best described as a Banana & Fino Sherry Gin Sour. The fino and banana notes are subtle, so subtle that it is not obviously a banana cocktail, although the name should serve as a clue.

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from a recipe created in August 2018 by Cameron Attfield at Dandelyan in London, England, this is a riff on the popular London Calling cocktail created by Chris Jepson in 2002.

Nutrition:

One serving of Banana Calling contains 153 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.1 standard drinks
  • 17.39% alc./vol. (34.78° proof)
  • 15.9 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.

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14th June at 23:17
It's like a banana pie. Sometimes i see the Giffard's Banana turns bitter. I have used in Daiquiris and it was not in equilibruum. But it seem Gin is the best combination, I never try it before since I though I had to mantain the tropical mood, but with the gin improves a lot so I will go for old recipes I discarded.
11th June at 21:33
I used a high proof (Old Raj Blue Spiced) gin to kick it up a notch. Turned out to be a very refreshing banana drink.
1st February at 15:22
Trying out my new bottle of giffard banane du bresil. Combined it with sipsmith and fino sherry. Very nice! Definitely smells and tastes like banana. For my palate it could probably do with a bit less sugar syrup.
5th December 2025 at 23:04
I used Hayman's Old Tom and Lustau Oloroso and the one thing I can say is the Banana was not in the background. This was banana in your face and lovely - maybe not for all but wow.
Probably the Old Tom sweetness enhanced the banana but will have it this way again.
21st November 2025 at 12:25
Absolutely delicious. Unlike other commenters, we thought it was delightfully balanced. But it's a big drink for our Nick and Nora glasses so we served it in a Coupe Glass, which probably more elegantly accommodated our dried banana chip garnish.
14th May 2025 at 00:15
Quite the palate challenge ( in a good way, coming from a Bourbon drinker). Nose is definitely citrus. Upfront, the gin is very prevalent, followed by the lemon mid palate and finishes with a lingering, but not overwhelming, banana finish. Nice and refreshing cocktail
28th February 2025 at 17:15
I just made this with acid adjusted apple juice (a tad less acidic than lemon juice) and that was honestly perfect for me in terms of acidity. I might've used a slightly too juniper forward gin for this cocktail, though, because the banana is way in the background. Next time I'll use this with a less flavorful gin and might try up the liqueur and sherry by 0.25cl.
29th November 2024 at 22:37
It is very much on the sour side, very refreshing.
I recommend using a slice of fresh banana for garnish, it projects a nice aroma and improves the whole experience.
30th November 2024 at 07:35
Good call, Dávid. I've added fresh banana as a garnish.
9th May 2024 at 18:59
I like the idea of this cocktail….however, I will reduce amount of lemon juice next time.
29th February 2024 at 05:45
way too sour for me!