Banana Calling

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (129 ratings)

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
1 23 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
0.42 oz Giffard Banane du Brésil liqueur
13 oz Lustau Jarana Fino Sherry
56 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
13 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Nick & Nora glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of dried banana chips or fresh banana slice.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. Garnish with dried banana chip or fresh banana slice.

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 2025 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.

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History:

Created August 2018 by Cameron Attfield at Dandelyan, 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 194 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.3 standard drinks
  • 17.25% alc./vol. (17.25° proof)
  • 18.5 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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Caspian Berggren’s Avatar Caspian Berggren
28th February 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.
Dávid Ugróczi’s Avatar Dávid Ugróczi
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.
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
30th November 2024 at 07:35
Good call, Dávid. I've added fresh banana as a garnish.
Michelle Bell’s Avatar Michelle Bell
9th May 2024 at 18:59
I like the idea of this cocktail….however, I will reduce amount of lemon juice next time.
Yorey C’s Avatar Yorey C
29th February 2024 at 05:45
way too sour for me!
Ignacy Szczupal’s Avatar Ignacy Szczupal
10th September 2022 at 22:18
Balanced, desert cocktail with 10 ml syrup. For aperitif, 5 ml or none is more apropriate. Really excellent and better with Manzanilla sherry than with Fino sherry (try both) in my opinion.
Antoni Baltar’s Avatar Antoni Baltar
5th January 2024 at 20:20
Giffard Banane du Bresil liqueur, Manzanilla En Rama La Gitana, and half the sugar syrup, as suggested ( I used 50/50 fructose/water syrup). Excellent as aperitif. Thanks a lot for the suggestion! I was looking for an aperitif cocktail to use my brand new bottle of Banana du Bresil iqueur :-)
Lena Nilsson’s Avatar Lena Nilsson
22nd July 2022 at 21:48
I’ve made this before, but what did I use instead of Fino Sherry? I don’t have that at home, so I must have used something else? Suggestion?
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
23rd July 2022 at 08:09
Manzanilla sherry is a close alternative to fino sherry.
6th February 2022 at 15:11
Thank you, Simon! :)
5th February 2022 at 10:53
This is a different cocktail from the one in the description of Banana Calling which links to this from the ‘20 best creme de banane cocktails’ page. That one has spiced rum and cinnamon syrup - sounds delicious - which one is it, please?
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
6th February 2022 at 14:10
Thanks for letting me know. 20 best page now fixed. The cocktail described with spiced rum, banana liqueur, and cinnamon syrup is a Banana Cart.
G. M. Genovese’s Avatar G. M. Genovese
5th February 2022 at 19:55
Anne, I know of the Tempus Fugit banana brand, but it's hard to come by in my area, though I do have a go-to shop I can visit to see if the can order it. They stock several other TF brands there, so I may get lucky.
Avatar

Anonymous

26th December 2021 at 18:49
I found this quite over powering with the taste of lemon and there was just a hint of banana aftertaste.
G. M. Genovese’s Avatar G. M. Genovese
9th May 2021 at 22:15
Just ran out of Fino. Manzanilla worked great in this. I'm overdo for getting a bottle of the Giffard... I wonder how it compares with the 99 Bananas swill I had on hand... Tasty and relatively dry.
5th February 2022 at 10:57
Have you tried the Tempus Fugit? It’s the best I’ve had so far - relatively dry, kind of earthy and natural-tasting - none of that sickly artificial taste. A bit like roasted, heavily caramelised bananas, almost to the point of burning - a slightly bitter edge, even.