Recent discussions on Difford’s Guide

Did this one yesterday, without knowing about it, with the difference that I used dark rum (Diplomatico). Great drink, rum forward with nice acidity from the lime juice.

Great observation, Ian. I'll add the Midnight Cocktail to Difford's Guide and link the two.

Good choice! A cracking cocktail.

The “Midnight Cocktail” in the 1925 L’Art du Shaker (and doubtless pre-dating it) has the same ingredients (sans saline), only in a 2:1 ratio… so perhaps not so contemporary!

I thought I invented a new cocktail. Then after doing a search I found this gem. (Great name too!) I guess great minds think alike, right Kenn?

However, my spec is a bit different. Rather than enter it as my original cocktail I hope you don't mind if I ride your coattails and offer my variation.

I tend to like a bit softer and sweeter profile in my spirit forward drinks and I think this spec would be good for those who prefer that as well. My intention was to marry a martini style cocktail with the flavor of an Old Fashioned.

I am a bit more specific about the brand of the ingredients...

2 oz Bib & Tucker Double Char Bourbon

1 oz Martini & Rossi Extra Dry Vermouth

1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao (this specific brand I think is critical to this cocktail, as you seem to think as well Kenn)

1 dash Orange Bitters

1/4 oz simple syrup (optional, depending on if you want a dry martini style or somewhat "Old Fashioned" sweetness)

Stir in a mixing glass till chilled and diluted

Strain into a chilled Nick and Nora or similar cocktail glass

Express an orange peel high over the drink and discard

With the volume of Aperitivo here we didn't have high hopes, expecting excessive sweetness. But we were very pleasantly surprised. We found it restrained, elegant and yet delicious. We haven't had a bottle of Sambuca to hand since our late teens, when it was all the rage along with its cousin Ouzo. So, speculatively, we substituted Galliano L'Autentico and a dash of Absinthe.

So much work..... so little time..... (so many more to try!) To date, the Ultima Palabra is my fave. (Sucker for anything with pineapple)

One I'd missed! I've now added Safe Word to the Last Word variations, bringing the total to 52. What are your top 10?

So it is Milano because the restaurant is Milanese, but the main ingredient (Aperol) comes from Padua near Venice.

I want to complaint: this is the meet me half way of a 20th century and a Last Word , so why is not in the list of all Last Word variations!? Sweeter than the first, but thicker than the last one. So much time so little liver. It is ver very sweet, much more in this son than in the parents. To do this today I was strictly in the ingredients listed here. In the tongue there is the cacao, and the chartreuse. Now I am Thankfull since in the task of traying all Last Word variation I was starting to get a little bored, the cacao allows me to get into the next goals...

The expression and the use of the red carpet came along because of a train 'The 20th century' were was promoted as a luxury train. You were received in style by the interior of the best designers in America, and they gave you a 20th century Cocktail. When I do not know what to drink this is one of my favorites. BUT STOP everything. In the past I used like here in the recipe the White Cacao from Giffard -so hard to get in my country. But now it appears the Hendricks Another, based in Cacao notes. I made one: Americano Bianco, the gin, the lemon -a little syrup allulose in my case- It's amazing!!!!! This new thing do it superb. As a matter of fact in the last couple of years I were using the Hendricks Cabaret, but this is a GAME CHANGER. I have low emotions in my life, but this is a krakatoa, an extravaganza! OMG

So good!
Took Avery's advice and substituted 15 ml of the vodka with genever.

Added 1 ml Malört to boost the bitterness and grapefruity-ness

Didn't read through the recipe before making it, so the mezcal got mixed in instead of being a float. Oops!
Tasted great regardless :)

From the start, I was concerned that this was going to be too sweet. Both Cointreau and green Chartreuse are sweet. With the addition of the rich syrup I was concerned about the sweetness level. Made it as posted and yes, for my palate, it was way too sweet. Even with the salt rim. Made a second one without the rich syrup and it was definitely more balanced and the Cointreau and Chartreuse flavors were more prominent. My advice, unless you like overly sweet cocktails, leave out the rich syrup.

Sounds much better than it tastes. Many ingredients but still tastes like something that is missing.

Somewhat disappointed in this drink. Need to fix it. Maybe using a certain red Italian bitter would help

I didn't have any walnut liqueur, but went with a mix of cognac and walnut bitters. I should've added some sweet notes to get into liqueur range, and it's on me that the version was too bitter. So I did what I suggested, but the walnut had sort of taken over.

However, it was better and I can see this combination of ingredients, in near proportions to what is listed as making a nice, deep, cocktail. Oddly, the Cherry Herring could use a little boost in my bastardized version, but probably shows up better in a properly made version.

It's a sweet martini on the rocks; mystery solved. If thats your thing you won't be disappointed.

Delicious on a hot summer's day. A perfect balance of bitter and sweet, just as described!

I normally love campari but it was a bit jarring here, was drinking it thinking I'd just prefer a tequila martini. The blanco vermouth addition to the original recipe does seem bang on, it just such a good compliment to the tequila.

I feared my Allspice Dram had sat a little too long, so I was looking for cocktails to make, and this popped up. The spice in the Angustora dominates, as expected, but the dram fills in late, in a very pleasing way. My lemon wasn't the best, so I was a bit scant on it, and paralleled that with the grenadine. But I can imagine how a little more tart/sweet could make this even better.

A perfectly balanced refreshment on the hottest day of the year (so far).

Many thanks for letting us know about the typo...this has been fixed!

It’s more in line with Cocchi Americano across and Byrrh and maybe the European version of Dubonnet. The US version I have just taste like port and I’ve never had the European version of Dubonnet.

Love this one. Now I can make some of the Savoy drinks that call for it.