The Bluff

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (33 ratings)
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    The Bluff

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Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
2⁄3 oz Hayman's Old Tom Gin
2⁄3 oz Calvados / apple brandy / straight applejack
1⁄3 oz Gentian liqueur (e.g. Suze, Salers etc)
1⁄3 oz Difford's Falernum liqueur
× 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 lemon zest twist.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 6/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A spirituous bittersweet digestif with notes of each of the four ingredients shining in a harmonious way.

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from a recipe created by Danny Shapiro at Scofflaw in Chicago, USA. Danny's original recipe, calls for Salers gentian liqueur.

Nutrition:

One serving of The Bluff contains 140 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.1 standard drinks
  • 26.35% alc./vol. (26.35° proof)
  • 15.8 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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Mariusz Twardowski’s Avatar Mariusz Twardowski
5th December 2024 at 01:03
Brilliant drink. Shapiro made this with Salers, as did I, and I don't think Suze or Aveze would work as well given their significantly more prominent citrus notes. I really wish this site would specify Salers when it is called for by the creator of a drink instead of the generic "Gentian Liqueurs" label.
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Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
5th December 2024 at 09:20
I have added a link to the US version of Salers above. Please be aware that not all Salers liqueurs are created equal.
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Amber Morgan’s Avatar Amber Morgan
3rd July 2023 at 19:21
Try with dry gin instead
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Aristoth Dariotis’ Avatar Aristoth Dariotis
22nd May 2023 at 02:59
Amazing drink for the simplicity of the spec!
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