Recent discussions on Difford’s Guide

Used Frangelico instead of the cacao creme, so it was more nutella than chocolate! Amaro de Angustura and Eagle Rare bourbon...

A soothing and balanced sipper. We made it with Old Pultney which gave a lovely saline nuance.

My wife particularly liked this one - it's very fruity and flavourful - but too sweet. We used 3 dashes of grapefruit bitters and that seemed to balance it out pretty well.

This is a lovely autumnal cocktail, particularly if you have good quality / home made sloe gin. The sloe gin-redcurrant combination is delicious

I find I don't like the amplification of bitterness when lime is paired with highly bitter liqueurs (like Cynar) so I replaced the lime twist garnish with orange, which I think works well. Used OFTD for the overproof component. Very nice, and not likely to be mistaken for a Manhattan.

I do have Cocchi, but decided it had a noticeable 'bass' note, like chocolate. The Dolin Rouge seemed more fruity, and it worked well.

Many thanks to everyone for the suggestions!
My second Bijou came out much nicer: Beefeater gin, Contratto Bitter, Dolin Rouge, and Chartreuse. A better balance for my palate.

I'll second that. Can we recover? Certainly if we survive this miasma we'll need a forward looking vision of what can be for all humanity and all of blessed creation. Screw the .o1%

I agree that it would be helpful to know how much beer is recommended. This page (https://www.diffordsguide.com/g/1150/how-to-make-cocktails/cocktail-glassware) says a Collins Glass can be 34cl to 41cl, so, depending on which size glass you're using, we're talking about a variance of 6cl if you "Top up with" the beer, which is quite a substantial variance...

Nice cocktail, but a bit too sweet. Next time I'll reduce the amount of orgeat.

For my unsophisticated pallete I found a squeeze of lemon quite a nice addition to this..

Somewhere somehow there is a place for blood orange juice in this beauty

The real issue is that neither limes nor lemons are quite the same as the Peruvian limón, which also affects Pisco Sours. I'd love to have some of those to see how that would change the characteristics of this cocktail.

I hadn't thought about trying it with lemon instead of lime, but mezcal is always a good choice! But then it wouldn't be Peruvian!

Mezcal is always a good choice! Cheers!

Well, I appreciate that!

Delicious! Unexpectedly good.

Every day is a school day!

Highly skewed to orange flavor, and quite sweet. I did not enjoy.

Refreshing, with a bit of depth. Liquorice leads and stays present throughout, and a dash of absinthe is exactly what you want. After that first hit of liquorice comes a sweet vanilla note. The liquorice never overpowers. Lime and simple syrup keep it in check, and by the end it settles into a sweet, slightly sour vanilla and liquorice balance. It’s a well-balanced showcase of its ingredients. Make it as written. Highly recommend.

Lacks a little bit of complexity when using Bacardi Gold, but maybe It’s rum’s fault. Overall, It’s nice and good for a warm afternoon.

Nice and refreshing. A must-try with a rye surprise inside. Perfect for a warm Day.

I've used =parts Suze/Averna/Cointreau with shake or 2 of Agostura orange for Amer Picon. I bumped up to 1.5oz of rye and sweet vermouth, .5oz Amer Picon sub,.33oz Benedictine PLUS expressed lemon oil (essential). KILLER sipper! A new fav!

Cocktail of the day for World Sake Day and it is one of the best cocktails we have had: my wifes absolute favourite. Nevertheless my tinkering leads us to prefer vodka instead of rum which gives it a more martini-ish presentation. Lovely!