John CARR

Swapped Punt e Mes bumped to 30 for the Cynar as it was fresher in stock and added a dash of BT aromatic bitters, truly taking it into Ginhattan ®️ territory. Or prob Martinez territory to be more accurate.

… and the Clapham version works even without the bitters - I think showing how well balanced Cherry Heering is in itself, helped by the drying effect of the double ratio of gin of course.

My first taste of the justifiably famous Naked & Famous. Brilliant. If it hadn’t been invented it would have to be discovered. Almost enough to tempt me away from a Last Word or Paper Plane…. almost 😉

Technical note that Xanthia would mean something like ‘yellowish/yellow-haired’ in Greek, so mr Clapham’s use of green Chartreuse could not be justified by self-respecting pedants 😉.

Also reminiscent of the more recently created St George’s negroni, which I believe this may have displaced in my fickle affections.

A new favourite negroni! This really made my cocktail evening. Created a couple of years after the Cornwall negroni and a definite improvement by evolution of it, in my opinion. Better balanced and integrated. Will definitely be having again.
Garnish instructions seem contradictory lemon vs orange flamed twist? I was half way through doing lemon when noticed the orange. Lemon non-flamed actually worked better with the Tanq 10 that I was using.

Love the tweaked (‘improved’?!) version of this recipe. The delicacy of the ingredient balance is simply magical and had to be tasted to be believed. Bring out your daintiest glassware!

With Tanqueray 10 and a good amount of dilution this absolutely sings. Delicately aromatic with a lovely amount of lingering bitterness to cleanse the palate. Pushing five stars with a tailwind.

Due to various wartime stockpile demands my base spirit included bourbon, scotch and cognac but came out pretty nicely. Still very much a rich sweet Manhattan with the orange and choc seamlessly blended in. Stunning.

Select is a great call for this

Yeah the Jamie Gordon keeps catching me unawares with how intense it is! LOTS dilution or a healthy splash vodka seem yo help. Or just enjoy the ride! Made this ‘regular’ version this evening with Dolin rouge rather than something more full bodied and enjoyed the delicacy. And 25 ml gin was in fact enough in this instance, giving room for its glassmates (®️) 😉.

Haven’t had one of these in a while and it was great! Served on a Rock with a slice of Orange. Def a gin lovers’ special, and the reduction in Campari will make it more approachable to many. To be strictly ‘balanced’ you could reduce the gin, maybe as far as 50, but I enjoyed the robustness of two full slugs of four pillars Rare Dry. Also a good way to finish off some less than perfectly fresh sweet vermouth, as I was doing. 😘

Yum! I have seen but not sampled. Still on a bottle of Penfold’s 10 yo from Christmas (Coravin protected). My last tawny port before that was Grant Burge 12 which I loved, but haven’t seen recently.

The whole is more than the some of the parts. Sublime.

This didn’t quite make it for me, although maybe just wasnt in the mood. Used Dubonnet and would be keen to try with Byrrh. There did seem to be a slight clash of the absinthe and cacao for my palate. Twentieth Century still my go to for cocktail using the brilliant De Kuyper white cacao. Did improve as warmed. Bumped the cacao to 10.

For the purposes of late night sipping it’s also possible to add a good splash eg. 7.5 ml Cherry Heering and 4-5 drops Bob chocolate bitters transforming this into a …. Chocolate tart 😉.

I didn’t read the recipe properly and ended up with a delicately enriched Rob Roy: 45 ml JW Double black (seems a popular choice for this), 22.5 Cocchi storico. Ran out of sugar syrup only 2.5, topped up with 2.5 Drambuie. I believe any scotch lover would enjoy this! The touch of herbal honey came through beautifully. Will make properly next time 🥴😘😂

I assume the title is a reference to Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit?

Johnnie Walker double black. Wonderful combination of flavours. Intense and full of character, show casing the whiskey and the Nocello. Could do something super interesting with an Islay scotch. Or even something like the four pillars green ant gin. Your very good health!

Or some tawny port perhaps?

Or some tawny pork perhaps?

Second version with Johnnie Walker double black 50ml, two dash BT aromatic bitters. Tempted to up the PX to 7.5 but either way Superb. 5 stars 🌟.

Didn’t have the barrel aged bitters but can easily imagine the match … really loved the other flavours so might have to invest just for this! Subbed with two dashes bokers and several drops walnut bitters. Perfectly balanced, as one has to come to expect from Simon, yet somehow still pleasantly surprised 😉. Chairs!

Revisiting with Woodford reserve rye, dropped the Campari to 25ml. Delightful interplay of the fruitiness in the Campari with rye spice, herbal vermouth in the background. Brilliant stuff!