Recent discussions on Difford’s Guide

Okay but really, what’s the point? A Sidecar is magnificent in and of itself, the Anglo is just gilding the lily. That being said, the Pear and Cardamon Sidecar is truly a thing unto itself, a thing worthy of checking out if you haven’t already met it!

Honestly, I think I'd just skip this and make a regular sidecar. This was not bad, but all of the angostura flavour was lost, save the bitterness. We ended up adding extra sugar even with a sugar rim on the glass. Not bad, but not better then the standard sidecar.

Made exactly as written - Really good and very balanced. No element is dominant but all are discernible.

Absolutely outstanding. One of the most elegant cocktails I’ve ever made. Cut the syrup to 5 ml, used grenadine, and upped the wine a bit. Used 3.0 Morbida as grappa since that’s what I had on hand.

Not bad. Also not - in any way - a Negroni. Shame on anyone riding a past-its-date Negroni bandwagon claiming otherwise.

Basically a White Lady with a dash of absinthe. If that's up your street go for it, if not don't waste your time.

The classic side car got us hooked on cocktails, this fruity sour will keep us hooked!

I just used Plantaray 3 Stars as well. More than serviceable. The amontillado I had though did stick out a bit much. Not sure to what intensity fino played at, if that's what you used... There's a peculiar toasted coconut note late in the aftertaste. Did you get that too?

Ooh, seems like I wasn't clear in my take - Plantation/Plantaray 3 Stars is excellent for this. Rght in the pocket.

Surprised by the results and curious to test other white rums now... Vanilla syrup: 2.5 vanilla extract, 12.5 2:1 cane simple (turned out good). Rum: Plantation 3 Stars. 2 drops saline... I can see this being better with Bacardi... Made it a second time with Clement Rhum 40% - too dominant, balance thrown way off, but still more than palatable... Always up for trying cocktails with cardamom, and the measure here is spot on.

I had no idea genever and apple juice went so well together. Worth getting good apple juice (or juicing your own) for this one.

Confounded my unsurprisingly low expectations. Not overly sweet, especially for such a generally gooey day.

I agree with and have adopted the dry and bianco split vermouth, but I prefer less lemon juice and accompanying balancing sweetner, so keeping this a spirit and vermouth-led cocktail, rather than turning it into another citrusy sour.

I’m beginning to believe that gin and sherry are made for each other. The sherry nicely balances the sweetness of the chartreuse and allows the gin to come through. Wonderfully complex.

I didn’t have any fino in so used Los Arcos amontillado instead. I liked the nuttiness it brought.

Fords gin, Lustau Los Arcos Amontillado, Yellow Char, Regan’s No. 6.

Lovely sipper. Though agree with the comments about sweetness depending on your brand of apricot brandy. We used Briottet which I would say is on the sweeter side so you could lessen the quantity a little.

For a less sweet take on this Yellow Negroni, try this instead:
• 30 ml Pisco 1615 Mosto Verde Italia
• 20 ml Suze (or Salers for more earthly bitterness)
• 20 ml Cocchi Americano Bianco
• 10 ml Yellow Chartreuse
• 5 ml Limoncello (only for citrus and colour)

Ok, Ok, Good to know. Thanks, Simon. I'll just have to suck it up. 😉

I upped the passion fruit syrup, used Ketel One Grapefruit & Rose Vodka, Dolin Vermouth, and grapefruit Bitters with 2 grains of flaky salt. Very nice. The grapefruit bitters turned out to be a great addition to this version.

Haha enjoy! Still not sure what the actual answer to my conundrum is, but imagine cultivating a sensitive palate so that small sips may make for significant discernments. Though hopefully without spitting out the precious liquids!

Puts me in mind of this: https://youtu.be/-Zj50DmBFp0?si=2BA5dSfAIHPhxczR

Bob's are very concentrated, so only drops are required per cocktail. A bottle could last you a lifetime.

Yes! Vermouth should not feature in a Tinton. I've corrected the erroneous mention.

Last week my wife and I visited a New Mexican restaurant in our little town and I ordered one of their cocktails and “upgraded” the regular tequila to Mezcal. My first taste of Mezcal and I was hooked - similar to my first dalliance with peated scotch! My first mission this weekend was to find a bottle of Mezcal and the second mission was to head to Diffords to give me some pointers in the direction of some good recipes. And this Mezcal Margarita was no disappointment! A very well balanced drink with nuances of all the separate ingredients coming through on every sip. I made mine with Perro D San Juan and this might become my go-to margarita.

The citrus forward New Amsterdam gin (it's what I had open on hand) works surprisingly well with Mr. Black. I tend not to like citrus notes in my coffee, but as an iced cocktail it's quite satisfying. The New Amsterdam adds just a touch of herbal notes. Looking forward to trying this with Goldie's Gin

We liked this but as another commenter noted this is quite tart (and I like sour drinks!) and I felt the angostura was a bit lost in the sour profile. We upped the sugar syrup slightly and also upped the angostura by another dash each. A nice variation for Sidecar enthusiasts like me.