Recent discussions on Difford’s Guide

It's true. I hadn't realized. Sorry. And thank you.

So, I finally did try it with Hogsworth substituted for the Armagnac, and I liked it even better! I also tried substituting Cognac for Armagnac, and that was good too. (Hogsworth is a 60%/40% blend of bourbon to Armagnac, so if you can't get your hands on any, blend some yourself!)

I made a similar cocktail with gin, Averna and balsamic vinegar (aged and sweet).

I will have to try your recipe.

As the "How to make says", TOP with the rest of the sparkling wine.

Very nice Negroni riff, was expecting the coffee to be an afterthought based on the ratios but it still came through in the aftertaste. Not too strongly but not left behind either.

Agree with everything but this touch of sweetness is bit light. I need more

Surprisingly good. Clean structure, very smooth, fruity and refreshing. Combining apricot and sake together is such a genius design. I use Dassai 39 and the result is flawless.

Perhaps only for those who like strong, bitter flavours.

For reasons which are not important right now, I made this by mistake with double the amount of tequila. Felix casus - what a happy accident.

Agreed. I found the equal measures to be perfect. An outstanding cocktail.

Well, the recipe seems very strange to me. It lists 1 1/2 ounces of sparkling wine twice. Is that really how it's done?

Tonight we had a cold southerly wind insinuating itself through the gaps in our windows and under our doors. So we made this warming comfort drink which we enjoyed immensely, although our creation fell way short, in appearance, of the posh looking one in the photo. So bravo. And a question: is it intended that the orange swatch find its way into the drink or be discarded? We discarded.

Very lovely drink. The aroma alone is fantastic. I’m new to tequila and have really appreciated this combo of Reposado and mezcal.

Nothing world-changing, but it's essentially a very tasty "adult" lemonade (or lemon soda, depending on your locale). Great option for a midday, hot weather drink. The bitters are a smart addition to keep it from being too one-note.

For the record, my previous recipe:
45 ml Rye whiskey
45 ml Dubonnet, Byrrh etc. rouge light quinquina
5 ml Triple sec liqueur
1 dash Aromatic bitters

I agree re bourbon, and I have amended the recipe above accordingly. I've also added to the history, but I think the Dandy first appeared in 'The Savoy Cocktail Book'.

What a blend of tart and sweet! Much like the cocktail's namesake. I think the real Mae West would have approved.

The Amaretto and cranberry create the chocolate flavor profile and the splash of Midori gives it just a hint of cherry. I think next time I'll up the Midori to 10ml and see if it brings a little more sweet to the mix, since I was using a sweetened but non-blended cranberry juice. If it were my usual cran-cherry blend, I probably wouldn't.

Without Midori, I still think this would be a tasty drink. Substitute a little sugar syrup as the extra sweetener and lose a bit of the fruit undertone, but still have a chocolate treat. This is going to be a cocktail I bring out on select occasions.

Really refreshing and well-balanced! The tonic is subtle at first, then comes through nicely at the end. Fresh, smooth, with just the right touch of bitterness. 🍸

Hi Gareth, uh oh, that was my error, many thanks for spotting and reporting it. It is a very nice Lewis bag 😉

Reminds me a lot of the Pearl Harbor. The only main difference being this also has Cointreau.

Pitch perfect balance. They really did know how to do that with few ingredients back in the day.

Love the look of these glasses, was very excited to see they were £8.60 for a set of 4 (knew that looked wrong) and yes alas the Buy Now link takes you to the Lewis Ice Bag in the Difford's Shop. Oh well, was just looking through the Negronis and will have to make my 'Celebration' in something else, boooooo! 🥹

Tastes like what you'd imagine potpourri would taste like+ bitterness

I went with 3:2 proportions using Crown Royal and 'Merican Dubonnet (Kentucky's finest, the 2018 new-and-improved version, because I can't find the French stuff, but it's still better than Byrrh). This was plenty of Dubonnet; we both enjoyed it. My copy of Craddock calls for "Rye or Canadian Whisky," which is very different from specifying "Canadian Club Whisky." Many Canadian whiskies, including Crown Royal (which is made in Manitoba, after all), contain some amount of rye, and maybe in Craddock's era he was used to having more rye-heavy Canadians, so the choice of bourbon seems a significant deviation from Craddock's recipe. Does anyone know if the Dandy originated in Canada, before it appeared in Craddock's book?