Peter

Simple but nice if you're in the mood for mint & chocolate.

Lemon bitters in place of the lemon zest twist is worth trying, imho.

Very interesting cocktail! The bitterness from the Amaro Montenegro really helps balance the sweetness of the Jack Daniel's & orgeat.

Made this exactly as prescribed. Really did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

The maraschino and Aperix play off each other surprisingly well, creating an interesting evolution. The Tanqueray is a bit lost, but not in a bad way, more just a supporting role. Very much enjoyed, I think Aperix works perfectly for the aperitivo with the maraschino, might try playing with different gins in the future.

FWIW, Hayman's London Dry Gin seemed to work well for me.

Has this been discontinued? Not easily finding anything about it online...

I did not like this in most drinks that I tried calling for Calvados; most of the time it seemed to provide a very unpleasant bitterness... When I tried a little bit on its own, diluted, with an ice cube, I ended up getting a not-so-pleasant "cat urine" note... However, this ended up working very well (better than Avallen) in the Manicure (https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2820/manicure) with Johnnie Walker Black & Drambuie...

This worked better with a more traditional Calvados...

Coming back after using this drink to help finish off a bottle of Berneroy Fine Calvados: making this with the Berneroy, Johnnie Walker Black, & Drambuie resulted in a great equal-parts drink, with relatively easy to find ingredients, if you're in the mood for a drink with a decent amount of "smoke". I'd maybe rate it more like a 4 on the sweet/dry/sour scale, but it still felt well-balanced by smoke/herbal/bitter components.

I used Johnnie Walker Black for this. I think the peatiness of the Scotch does a better job of balancing the citrus and sweetness (compared to Bourbon or Rye), while also adding a new layer of complexity... Certainly a nice drink for anyone who likes Scotch.

I'm guessing your choice of whisky (and possibly cognac?) might determine if you get a "barbecue sauce vibe". I just made this with Camus VSOP Cognac & Laphroaig 10 Year, and I'm noticing any sort of barbecue sauce flavors.

I forgot a word... I meant to say "... I'm *not* noticing any sort of barbecue sauce flavors."

The biscotti is there in the forefront but the peated whisky crushes that pretty handily in the aftertaste. The dark sweetness plus smoke gives a bit of a barbecue sauce vibe which was not what I was looking for when I picked this. Sad as a big fan of both smokiness and Averna together, Devil's Soul is one of my favorites.

I'm guessing your choice of whisky (and possibly cognac?) might determine if you get a "barbecue sauce vibe". I just made this with Camus VSOP Cognac & Laphroaig 10 Year, and I'm noticing any sort of barbecue sauce flavors.

Made this with Avallen Calvados, Johnnie Walker Black, & Drambuie. Not bad, but the "smoke" was fairly dominant. I'm curious to play with the proportions and/or try a different Scotch.

This worked better with a more traditional Calvados...

Peter, I understand your concern, and I share it. It's as bad a "juice of half a (lime, lemon, whatever)". But what can be done? It's easy to specify a volume of juice, but what could be done about leaves? And what about the variability of muddling technique? I don't see a solution. For me, I sometimes make dated notes on the recipe, just as I do when 'tuning' someone else's recipe to my (or my wife's!) tastes. Sometimes the outcome is multiple variations. In my case, that would include margaritas and daiquiris.

I don't think all variability can be avoided, but I'd imagine something like "X grams of basil (about 12 leaves)" could provide more consistency for those new to the recipe.

Hi Peter,

It’s been a while since you asked, but maybe this is still useful:

For blended aged Caribbean, my go-to is Appleton 8 y/o - it’s blended pot and column, affordable, and very flavourful. Also because I like Jamaican rum.

However, I don’t necessarily use that in recipes like this that call specifically for (Cuban) Havana Club 7. In those cases I use HC7 or maybe Diplomático Mantuano, because these are more oak forward and with less fruity/ pot-still character.

Since HC7 is unavailable in the US, I'll have to pick up a bottle of Diplomatico Mantuano and give that a try. Thanks for the suggestion!

When making this with Avallen Calvados, I ended up adding 2.5 ml of 2:1 sugar syrup and that seemed to bring a better balance, for me. Makes sense considering Avallen has zero added sugar as opposed to a traditional calvados like Bergeron would have used when creating this cocktail back in 1972.

As Genovese notes below - the flavor is strongly influenced by the coffee liqueur you use. I strongly recommend a drier liqueur - I don't have Galliano. I made several versions - Borghetti (great flavor, IMO), Mr. Black, and Mr. Black (and excluding the Nonino and PX). I found the Borghetti too sweet, and the PX and Nonino are lost. But the Mr. Black w/o the PX and Nonino falls flat - using Mr. Black as a sub for the Galliano worked great. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this with Galliano, but it was a bit sweet. I'm curious to try this with Mr Black to see if it brings a better balance...

Delicious. Based on some other comments, it sounds like Avallen Calvados is ideal for this since it has no added sugar. Sweet and sour up front, fading into a ton of herbal complexity with a little "bite" and a little bitterness on the back end.

The recipe calls for an orange zest twist, but I think that might be a mistake? It looks like there's a lemon zest twist in the photo, and I think that makes sense given the lemon juice?

Aside from that, this was very tasty with Avallen Calvados and Ferrand Dry Curacao. I expected the Calvados to get a little lost in the mix, but it was fairly pronounced, with the other ingredients still noticeably contributing to the whole ensemble. The word "fresh" came to mind while drinking it.

The recipe calls for an orange zest twist, but I think that might be a mistake? It looks like there's a lemon zest twist in the photo, and I think that makes sense given the lemon juice?

This worked really well with Wild Turkey "91" (50/50 mix of 101 & 81) bourbon, imho. Definitely a bit boozy and whiskey-forward, but the Ramazzotti, Strega, & bitters add quite a bit of tasty complexity.

If you are looking for a great and flavourful aperitif, this is one to try. Just slightly sweet, and the herbal tastes from the Benedictine and bitters. Well balanced. Does benefit from a long stir.

Agreed. Simple but delicious.

Wild Turkey 101 and Cocchi di Torino. To date, the best combo I've had. Excruciatingly difficult not to make another, pronto.

Wild Turkey 101 was pretty good with Dolin Rouge too, imho.

I made this with Aalborg Taffel Akvavit, Laird's Bottled-in-Bond, Dolin Rouge, & Yellow Chartreuse. I needed to make sure there was enough dilution to balance things with just enough caraway/akvavit on the back end. Apple was noticeable but balanced. Lots of herbal complexity. Very interesting "autumnal" drink, if looking for something seasonally appropriate.

1.5 fl oz The Busker Blended Irish Whiskey, 0.75 fl oz Dolin Rouge, 0.5 fl oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot Liqueur, & 0.25 fl oz Cynar seemed to work well for me. Bittersweet, but leaning more towards the bitter side of the equation. Apricot was subtle, and everything blended together well. I appreciate the fairly unexpected combination of ingredients. I think it could work in an old-fashioned glass with ice, too, especially if you're worried about it being too sweet.