Recent discussions on Difford’s Guide
Suffragette
A Wet Gin Martini with a touch of elderflower floral richness
Simon Difford
7th February at 11:58
Sorry! Should be fixed this time. I've cleared our cache.
Dickens' Dry Martini
In an ironic reference to Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist, a "Dickens' Martini" is served without an olive or a twist. The ratio of gin to vermouth...
7th February at 11:26
Quite contradictory named, since it goes no-Olive(r), no-Twist. Maybe should be No-Dickens' Martini?
Ron Los Valientes 10 Anos
Named Los Valientes (the Valiant Ones) in honour of the brave fighters of the Mexican Revolution, this rum is made by the Villanueva family who, for three...
7th February at 11:17
Not the same run, but the same brand so I’ll leave this here (“Solera 20”):
Smells like the finishing barrel had a substantial amount of fortified wine left in it. I thought it was port, or possibly even red wine, but I can’t be entirely sure.
Tastes like a young rum was aged on a large amount of oak chips for a short period of time. A lot of spicy tannins, but too raw to be pleasant - just tastes like French oak tea.
I notice some countries seem to be labelled as “10 años” etc while my…
Smells like the finishing barrel had a substantial amount of fortified wine left in it. I thought it was port, or possibly even red wine, but I can’t be entirely sure.
Tastes like a young rum was aged on a large amount of oak chips for a short period of time. A lot of spicy tannins, but too raw to be pleasant - just tastes like French oak tea.
I notice some countries seem to be labelled as “10 años” etc while my…
Cyder Press
Fresh, fermented and distilled apple juice with a hint of elderflower7th February at 11:12
Made this with 5 year aged calvados, some excellent local farm cider which is flat, medium dry and complex, elderflower cordial and fresh apple juice. It was wonderful. I made the next one with a dash of aquafaba, and it was even better.
Camomile & Buckthorn Breeze
Adult, clean and subtle in flavour with a twang of fruit7th February at 10:03
25 years later and with numerous changes to our database in the meantime, judging by the colour of the pre-digital photography, I suspect it should have been Buckthorn in the recipe, and I have amended accordingly. Thanks to your feedback, I'm also working to correct links.
Suffragette
A Wet Gin Martini with a touch of elderflower floral richness
7th February at 09:42
It still says ice-filled for me. I’ve cleared my cache and refreshed, but maybe all the servers haven’t repopulated yet?
Green Goddess
This deep olive-green, minty, bittersweet herbal cocktail is perhaps the ultimate digestivo. If you're stuffed/flagging after an overly indulgent, multi-course...7th February at 09:00
No. Best invest in a bottle of Brancamenta. Stick in the fridge and enjoy over ice as a late-night digestivo. You won't regret it!
Suffragette
A Wet Gin Martini with a touch of elderflower floral richness7th February at 08:51
Thanks for bringing to my attention, James. Now corrected.
Cactus Jack
Vivid in colour, this orange-led, tequila-based drink has a balanced sweet and sourness
7th February at 08:46
Not usually super into tequila, but I decided to bump up the measure as per John's comment and this surprised me, big fan! Just a tiny tad too sweet otherwise.
Don't have añejo at hand to give that float a try but it does sound interesting.
Don't have añejo at hand to give that float a try but it does sound interesting.
End of the Road
Originally designed to be served straight-up, but I prefer this punchy, Negroni-esque cocktail over ice, mellowed by a little additional dilution7th February at 06:29
Nice , if a bit too medicinal, with a heavily peated whisky (Port Charlotte 10) but fantastic with a lighter peat (Filey Bay Peated)
Pineapple Blossom
Richly flavoured but drier than you might expect7th February at 04:19
The flavors are surprisingly complimentary and make for a very palatable cocktail! Used a Bunnahabhain 12 year islay single malt and Trader Joe's canned pineapple juice and it could probably use less rich simple as it's almost too sweet.
Yellow Negroni
As the name suggests, this pisco-based, five equal parts, vivid yellow, bittersweet aperitif was inspired by the classic Negroni, along with three of the...7th February at 03:00
Ya - HOO !! I'm sipping this one now ..... Fantastic !!
This is now on my "enjoy often" calendar.
This is now on my "enjoy often" calendar.
Biggles' Sidecar
The idea was to make a riff on an Aviation (see Biggles Aviation) but ginger cries out for cognac so I also ended up with this ginger Sidecar
7th February at 02:49
Delightful as always. This one's a keeper.
Eclipse No. 2
If you like a Last Word, you'll like this7th February at 01:37
A definitely different riff on the Last Word. All the botanical comes from the chartreuse alone with rum replacing the gin, but that's not a bad thing. It lets the chartreuse shine on its own. The sweetened lemon is a little milder than the lime and maraschino and sits nicely with the rest of the drink.
A notch below the Last Word, but for me that just means I'm giving it 5 vs 5+ stars!
A notch below the Last Word, but for me that just means I'm giving it 5 vs 5+ stars!
Broken Plane
A floral, elderflower-influenced riff on a Paper Plane7th February at 00:47
Certainly not really reminiscent of a Paper Plane but it's a nice cocktail nonetheless, albeit on the sweeter side. The elderflower is front and center but the Nonino does a pretty good job of dialing it down. If I would remake it I'd probably use slightly less elderflower liqueur just to let the gin and Nonino speak a bit louder.
MonteNegroni
While the proportions of the classic Negroni are accepted as being equal parts, with some boozehounds slightly upping the gin, the proportions of this...
7th February at 00:20
I was prepared to dismiss this as too sweet for my taste, but allowing it to mellow with a large ice cube made it delicious to my palate. The Montenegro balances well with the vermouth. I think I might bring this one out when I have guests who don't enjoy the sharp edge of Campari!
Old Flame
As Dale DeGroff, this cocktail's creator, says, it's a Negroni softened by fresh orange juice and a splash of triple sec7th February at 00:16
This also made me wonder - could it work to use grapefruit juice for those who want it more bitter?
Old Flame
As Dale DeGroff, this cocktail's creator, says, it's a Negroni softened by fresh orange juice and a splash of triple sec7th February at 00:14
I really like the concept with the cocktail. The orange juice and triple sec works great at making the Campari less bitter. It's not as good as a Negroni but I could certainly see this as an alternative for people who don't like Negronis.
Five-Three-Five
Gin-laced, bittersweet with melon fruit and herbal complexity7th February at 00:07
One of those drinks that grows on you - probably as a result of being diluted.
Need to try with the gentian down and the Midori upped.
However my wife loved it - so give it a try.
Need to try with the gentian down and the Midori upped.
However my wife loved it - so give it a try.
Yellow Negroni
As the name suggests, this pisco-based, five equal parts, vivid yellow, bittersweet aperitif was inspired by the classic Negroni, along with three of the...6th February at 23:30
Very yellow and just too sweet.
Great taste but couldn't get best the sweet.
Great taste but couldn't get best the sweet.
Carroll Gardens
This delightfully spirit-forward riff on the Brooklyn is the most Italian American of cocktails6th February at 23:28
Glorious! Lovely richness with distinct herbal notes.
The Salty Thorn
Tastes like a salted carmel chocolate with sweet notes from the caper berrie6th February at 23:24
Very tasty
Mujer Verde
The name means 'Green Lady'... and she packs a Chartreuse punch6th February at 23:21
Made a variant. Less lime and no sugar. It really brings out the Chartreuse split with a very nice finish.
1 fl oz Gin (Procera Blue Spot)
1⁄2 fl oz Green Chartreuse
1⁄2 fl oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/3 fl oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
1 fl oz Gin (Procera Blue Spot)
1⁄2 fl oz Green Chartreuse
1⁄2 fl oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/3 fl oz Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
Negroni Bianco Bergamotto
Dry with wine like-minerality, zesty bergamot and piney gin notes6th February at 22:58
I like it. Italicus (and bergamot in general) is an interesting flavour. I shook this, with a couple of nocerella olives as that's all I had, and my local vineyards vermouth. Balanced the sweet.