Recent discussions on Difford’s Guide

Hope it holds up to the anticipation. I had to really experiment to get that vibrant blueberry flavor and deep color. Its good to enjoy the work!

We will try this...our grocer has blueberries now. In the meantime, we did a Negroni:
30ml Never Never Gin
30ml Cardamaro
17.5ml Tanica red bitter aperitivo
2.5ml lemon syrup
The Gin is a downunder (and, in our unashamedly biased view, excellent) double distilled version of a London dry, with a slightly higher ABV than is usually found. The Tanica is a downunder aperitivo made from Davidson's Plum (a local tropical fruit) and Strawberry Gum leaf. Campari will will be more austere and bitter, Tempus Fugit less bitter and more fruity.

Between the Easy Street and the White Linen, I prefer the Easy Street, as it’s less Cucumber forward and the lemon juice works a little better with these ingredients, then the lime juice does in a White Linen, however if I was to make this drink again, I might ditch the simple syrup and add about 7.5ml or 1/4 fl oz elderflower liqueur and a few drops of saline solution to this drink, however overall both these drinks are pretty good and would definitely make them again

Yes you are right, I missed it.

Liking the bitters and saline that don't appear in Joly's video.

I love an easy cocktail. Paper plane ratio of 1oz. each Planteray Dark (bit of extra sweetness is welcome here), Aperol, Montenegro, Lemon, and this is delicious. Citrus profile leans trends more toward grapefruit more than lemon, orange or blood orange, but is really none of the above. Unlike so many amari, the Montenegro keeps this drink fresh and refreshing. Definitely on my 'what do I do with all these lemons?' list. Nicely balanced.

Check the link above to the tequila based Yellowjacket. Cheers.

In Mexico where I live is easier to get Democracy than Benedictine, so I have to sustitute the options was Strega or Yellow Chartreuse, and I went for the first. The final cocktail is very sweet, like a licorice candy. The Vermouth was Dolin, I was afraid of the result, but I did it exactly like it says here and is very palatable, as a dessert. Normally I dont get closer absinthe nor vermouth, but is very good, someone here says it was 'the most disgusting ever' but I feel like that with absinthe and many times with vermouths, thats why Dolin is soft enough and I use my absinthe in a perfume puffer.

Interesting that this Yellowjacket has the same name as the original reposado tequila, elderflower liqueur and Yellow Chartreuse based Yellowjacket cocktail from the original Employees Only bar, from the early 2000’s

I don't mind a sweeter cocktail, but the other comments are correct - an equal part of St. Germain is too much. A little extra cognac helped, but even 90 proof rye didn't cut through very well. Still, not bad, and allows the fruit/nut cognac flavors to come through. I think that removing the absinthe and muddling the grapes could be nice- an absinthe spritz is almost always better than adding directly to the mixing glass.

The lemon syrup experiments continue! This round heads back to summer fruit and fresh herbs, exploring how blueberry, apple, and thyme play together in a classic sour framework. I'd love to know if you're finding interesting uses for lemon syrup in your own cocktails—it's proving to be a much more versatile ingredient than I expected.

Zippy and refreshing!
Dialed the sugar syrup down to 10 ml and it was plenty sweet for me.

The bourbon comes through nicely. But unless I mis-measured accidentally, the lime is presenting as out of balance. The specs don't seem out-of-whack, so maybe I did have my measurements off. I want to rate this a 3.5 bordering on 4, and need to give it another go to determine where it sits for me.

This was quite enjoyable. Though I can see where this may be too lemon forward for some people, we have to realize this is basically a "sour" cocktail, so it is to be expected. The reposado tequila comes through nicely and it ends with a nice "sour" finish.

Well done, Simon, not a single “US” ingredient in the entire drink…perhaps it’s a metaphor for the immigrants who have contributed so deeply to the previous success of the country? 😁

Delicious. Next time, I'll try it with vodka instead of tequila.

Not bad on it's own, but adding your favorite whiskey (especially one that pairs well with coffee) makes an refreshing drink I call a Joe Collins (Joe from a "Cup of Joe").

Thanks, Simon! Great to have some feedback on my concoctions. Love the rum and Angostura suggestion for a stiffer version. Will give that a go. Hoping the next "lemon syrup" experiment goes well, too.

Everyone should know about this cocktail.... genius level in my opinion👌🏼

Tried it with my new chocolate bitters and found it a bit too sweet, need to get some Abbotts bitters then…..

Gin China Blue
Although the China Blue is meant to be low-ABV and refreshing, I do think it benefits from a small measure of Gin. This version is bright, lightly bitter from the grapefruit, floral from the lychee, and less sweet than the original. Total liquid is 110 ml before dilution, so it fits nicely in a coupe.
35 ml Beefeater gin
12.5 ml Kwai Feh lychee liqueur
12.5 ml Marie Brizard Blue Curaçao Liqueur
45 ml pink grapefruit juice
5 ml lemon juice
2 drops saline
Shake hard with ice, then fine strain into a chilled coupe

I revisited my originally simpler recipe to make it more Martini-like in July 2026. The previous recipe:
50ml (1⅔oz) Vodka
45ml (1½oz) Cherry juice
5 (1 barspoon) Sugar syrup

Even better with a generous squeeze of fresh grapefruit juice and possibly a dash of grapefruit bitters, including if you have peeled your fruit bare but the flesh is still willing 😉

Seems interesting and has some potential. If I make this one again, I'll skip the sugar syrup.