Tremendous cocktail! The orange curacao can easily come to the front of this one, so be cautious with the proportions there. Made properly though, this is a fantastically delicious cocktail, and I loved that the flavor profile stands out as unique from a lot of the other classic cocktails that are seeing a resurgence today - in a world of Old Fashioneds, Paper Planes, Negronis, Last Words and the like, I feel like this one slips into a really nice void. Can't wait to make it for friends.

One of the lovely things about this site is being introduced to new guilty pleasures. I can’t remember which cocktail I bought Velvet Falernum for originally but I’ve fallen in love with its smokey sweetness - a bit like a good Islay malt but without the sensation that you’re chewing on cigars*. This cocktail is a beatifully balanced showcase of that.

* I said that like it was a bad thing - I’m a big fan of Islay malts and Laphroaig in particular but know it’s a bit full on for some.

Lovely drink and exactly as described, tangy with a hint of cloves. As I only had falernum syrup, not liqueur, I elected to skip the simple syrup; it remained nicely balanced in my view!