Caspian Berggren

I thought the Gypsy No1 was on the border of a Last Word riff and this is on the border of *not* being a Last Word riff. It's still good, I like bergamot. It carries a lot of similarities to its sister - mainly being less complex than a LW and being delicious- but it's a good alternative if Chartreuse isn't readily available. You obviously won't get the herbal complexity from the Chartreuse but if you use a good gin you can make up for it.

I replaced a third of the mezcal with tequila and that was perfect for me. It's honestly not super complex but the cassis works very well with the ginger and mezcal. I can imagine how this would be perfect for a summer party as a more daring welcome drink.

I reduced the recipe by a fifth (4cl Grappa, 2.5 limoncello, 1.5 Amaretto and 1.5 Galliano) and I honestly feel like it's still too big. Aside from that it actually took me by surprise. The Amaretto works fabulously with the aged Grappa, the Galliano brings some herbal complexity and the limoncello brings it all together under a citrus umbrella. It's a sweet cocktail, yes, but it all works together.

It's really interesting how the rest of the ingredients bring out the chocolate notes from the bourbon in this one. It's like a banana chocolate cocktail and it's absolutely delicious.

Oh I should've used S&C! The lack of rum flavour was really the main criticism I had of the cocktail but I used Planteray 3 Stars. Next time I'll try splitting them 50:50 just to try out the difference.

I think the tequila can really make or break this cocktail. I think it needs to be leaning more towards the fresh citrus and raw agave flavors rather than the pepper and cooked agave. I used Nock Blanco and it worked fabulously. It's not too sweet like many cream drinks can be. It's honestly a solid tequila cocktail which highlights the tequila in a new and interesting way.

A tip for cream cocktails btw: dry shake it like you would with an egg white cocktail. It builds a nice foam and gradient.

It's honestly really great. The mezcal is perfectly accentuated by the cinnamon and peach where the Suze adds just a little more body without making the cocktail bitter. A thing I like about the blue curacao is that it's not too orangey. It's there in the background supporting the other components.

Don't be scared off by any preconceptions you might have about "blue cocktails" - this one is seriously good.

I really like the "History" of this cocktail because it actually does have the perfume of a haystack. It's not grassy per se but rather

I think Anders Erickson's recipe is the best one I've tried. It's 45ml Plymouth gin, 30ml Apricot liqueur and 15ml lemon juice with 2 dashes of Peychauds. It strikes the perfect balance between sweet and sour in my mind.

I really like this suggestion. It deviates the cocktail from a Negroni riff, sure, but the touch of acidity really helps to brighten the drink up without making it taste like a sour drink.

I didn't think I would be able to concur with the bready and jammy notes review but I absolutely do. It obviously doesn't have the texture of bread but upfront it actually kind of tastes like a piece of toast with some sour cherry jam. Very nice cocktail indeed!

I thought my genever would be too malty so I scaled it down to 5cl, and bumped up the sweet vermouth to 3cl, but that made it a tad too sweet. Great for a nightcap but not quite what I was after. A lesson, once again, to trust those who went before you. ;)

It's a glorious cocktail though. It's a drink that really highlights how good genever can be in the right circumstances. The vermouths and Ango creates almost like a cola flavour which complements the malt splendidly.

A grown up milkshake. It's honestly surprisingly good. I'd scale it down to 3cl of each ingredient, though, and maybe reduce the Amaretto to 2cl since it does slightly overpower the other ingredients.

The flavors work surprisingly well together. The Maraschino is quite forward but the gin and cognac does a good job at reigning it in. I think it would work even better if you had a full flavoured gin and cognac just to make them even more noticeable. I don't think the added sugar is required though, or maybe reduce it to a couple of dashes.