Did try this with Laird's bottled in bond and increased the Dry Curaçao to 7.5ml. Excelent, dryish, pleasantly orangy. Will try again with 5ml.

interesting profile, and balanced.

Tried this one (twice!) with different Calvados and Blue Curacao as I ran out of Orange. Besides the fact that the final color now looks as if this drink was made in Tchernobyl, this really IS a revelation.

Choice of Calvados however made a huge difference. I tried one with a Boulard Calvados VSOP, which makes for a more full bodied but less 'sweet apple'-taste, whereas a 'simple' 2 yr casked Calvados gave this cocktail a lighter, fresher taste.
Both were however very pleasant!

Would it be ok to use Triple Sec (like Cointreau) instead of curaçao?

Nice sour, quite a lot of Benedictine but I love the stuff so this is a win for me. Orange rind or bitters is a must if you have either.

Had to adjust the sour balance according to the liking of the drinker but it still turned out absolutely delicious: delicious apple with herbal notes and orange undertone. What a pleasant surprise of a drink.

What makes the end of a long hard day worthwhile? Discovering a heretofore unknown classic cocktail and learning all about it at Difford's website! Thanks for this instant favorite.

Made one with an Irish apple brandy rather than Calvados, and Clement Creole Shrubb instead of Curaçao, but close enough. Really tasty.

I agree that is borderline pushing my sweetness tolerance but overall a nice cocktail. Will try it next time with the orange bitters as John recommended.
Full disclosure: the first time I made it, I misread the ingredients and used Grand Marnier instead of Benedictine....and it was actually better, not as sweet :)

Very nice cocktail. It was a bit on the sweet side for us, but not overwhelming. Would agree just a hint more lemon juice might balance out the sweetness.

Half way through our cocktail we added 2 drop of orange bitters. Increased the orange hints and tamed down the sweetness.

I used the actual Difford (thank you for reviewing Simon) recipe, but lifted the lemon juice by a barspoon to balance the drink. I am sure it could be very interesting to test a recipe with more orange curaçao.

Hello Simon, I've been looking at this drink, and the various recipes involved, and plan to make one soon. I just thought I'd mention that I'm fairly certain the "Brown Derby" in which this cocktail became a famous, signature drink (sans egg white), actually was a restaurant in Los Angeles and not a bar in NYC. But, as often is the case, I could be mistaken. Cheers!

Great opalescent appearance. Pleasant orange, lemon, and apple. Good, but not a favorite.

Delicious orangy sour.

Smooth, sour, apple, lemon - this is a nice combination fir a classic sour with an apple twist.