A beautifully balanced and complex Old Fashioned. We were a bit surprised that the recipe didn't include bitters (apart from the Gentian) so we added a dash of grapefruit bitters.

Made this with mijenta tequila and my last dribble of suze saveur d’autrefois. Added a bit of grapefruit and chamomile bitters and a couple of drops of saline. Couldn’t be happier. Bitter and sweet and surprisingly full mouthfeel - presumably from the grapefruit liqueur. Banging.

I absolutely loved this drink. Made with Olmeca Altos Plata and Fino sherry, because I don't use enough sherry to justify keeping two bottles open concurrently. This was a great drink regardless, with a distinct evolution from bitter grapefruit to herbal tequila to sherry salinity. It's complex and well balanced and overall delightful.

Interesting comment about cutting back the Suze, Simon. The first time I tried this cocktail, I was unfamiliar with gentian and found it quite a challenging taste. Here I am, another spring, another Bending Blades... and now I can't imagine it without that Suzean slap. So I'm definitely sticking to the original 15ml, but I hope others will try it either way and add another favourite cocktail to their cabinets!