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I made this but substituted Leopold Bros. Apertivo for the Campari, which increased the bitter level somewhat (as LBA is quite a bit more bitter and less sweet than Campari, which I'm not particularly a fan of). However, I like bitter elements in food and drink, and this combo, with the sweetness of the sugar syrup, balanced out perfectly! It's a surprisingly multi-layered taste experience, with the bitter, sweet, and sour swirling around each other to create a full-bodied mouth explosion.

I made with a gin aged in bourbon barrels. It really made for an interesting variation. The Smokey bourbon flavor to the gin complimented the bitters and grapefruit wonderfully. Loved it.

This is a great cocktail; I suspect that those who like a Negroni will also like this.

I've made also made this successfully with lemon juice substituted for the lime juice in the recipe (so don't worry if you've only got a lemon).

Any cocktail mixing campari with grapefruit juices is undeniablely tasty. In this cocktail, even the gin's botanicals shine through. I love it.

The Campari and grapefruit enhance each other so well. I would say that depending on the sweetness of the grapefruit, the sugar syrup is hardly needed. Lovely drink!

This cocktail is a fave!!

Shouldn’t this be called the “Old Acquaintance” if it is based on the old friend?
A

Wow, this is so well balanced - it's bitter, sweet, tart and fresh. Definitely a new top 5 cocktail for me!