I made this with creme de violette first go,not having any parfait d’amour. It was disappointing. Once I used the right ingredients the cocktail was transformed. The ginseng bitters are essential, and complement the parfait very well. Also, do not sub the vodka with gin - you need the ‘clean’ spirit’ for best effect.
Thank you, Simon; another ‘keeper’.
I had always thought that umbrella came from ‘umbra’ - shade? Every day is a school day, as they say. Refreshing cocktail, but maybe not a favourite for me.
Not our sort of cocktail. Too many sorts of ‘bitter’ with no balancing tastes and quite ‘thin’. We’ll stick with the standard Boulevardier.
Elederflower is forward. Try doubling the aromatised wines?
Spotted it. You mean in one of the steps in the "How to make" instructions. These were drawn from my Caipirinha recipe, and I've now removed the rouge cachaca. Many thanks for bringing to my attention.
My pleasure, Simon - I thought I was losing the plot.
Hi Alan. Not that I'm aware of. What do you have in mind?
Sorry if I am being dim, but the recipe mentions cachaca?
Are we missing an ingredient here?
Very pleasant. Adding 25ml morello cherries liqueur helped lift it somewhat.
Quite delicious. A subtle and beautiful version of the Vesper.
A very pleasant cocktail indeed: delicate flavours working well together and looking amazing. Another Simon triumph.
Absolutely delicious combination of flavours. A new favourite, thank you.
We both liked this. Despite the slightly laboured pun for the name, it is a pleasant blend of flavours, none dominant, but surprisingly complex. A keeper.
Couldn’t really get on with the blackberry. Removed, and replaced with 15ml of a creamy banana liqueur I had on hand. A dusting of grated nutmeg works well.
Simon, this is fabulous - it may very well be your best cocktail, as you say. Thank you.
Very tasty, and a sophisticated mix. I may try dialling back the Montenegro a hair, to bring up the Italicus a little. I’ll see.
Absolutely agree, Simon, a delicious and bite-sized aperitivo. Punchy enough to satisfy, but with subtle and harmonious flavours. Definitely needs the discarded lemon twist.
A lovely delicate drink, and not too alcoholic. I reduced the lemon juice slightly, which we thought improved it still further. The colour is beautiful, too.
Better than mellow, in my view. Some lovely subtlety of flavours while still delivering a deliciously punchy cocktail.
Delicious cocktail. As punchy as an Old Fashioned but with beguiling subtlety. Another addition to 'Favourites'.
Peach-flavoured whiskey? Or peat-flavoured whisky?
I enjoyed this, but it is much more to my taste if the gin is upped to 45ml and the Grand Marnier to 30ml
We found this too citrussy. Upping the Grand Marnier fixed it for us and restored a better balance.
One tip is to dip your bar spoon into the cherry syrup before you stir; gives it a very slight cherry sweetness that's different to any of the cherry syrup that drips from the cherry which is naturally more concentrated. (Incidentally, any tips to limit syrup drippage from Luxardo cherries? If only for a more aesthetic presentation.)
When I need a ‘clean’ look I rinse the cherries in a shot of whatever spirit I am using. And then drink the shot…….. Waste not, want not.
Fabulous. I really like this one, despite an initial reservation about tinkering with my Manhattan. I find that upping the ingredients to 60/10/20/20 gives me the correct size drink for my glasses.
These are ml, of course, and not percentages.