CJ Grant

I didn't have apple juice, but did have Apple Jack. I went with an ounce and doubled the simple to counter the loss of sweetness. It turned out pretty well, like a mix of Granny Smith and red delicious apple with a touch or bourbon vanilla in the finish..

Made one + half since my lime and lemon yielded more juice, which gave me some room to cut in an per-drink heavy 1/4oz overproof rum. I went a equal parts homemade grenadine (sweet tart) and simple and this thing is very good. The orange curacao plays through a bit more than expected, but combined with the tang of lemon/lime/grenadine - combining to be a little bit like a Smarties candy with those notes. The rum cuts through just enough to keep this thing from being overly candy-like overall, though.

Saw this cocktail on a variety of YoutTube channels. I never recall thinking it was something I would make, but I had all the ingredients, so I went for it.

I agree that, in any bruised/muddled mint drink, the quality of mint is key. Mine was average, so I flipped the rye and bourbon percentages and used a minty rye (Willett).

I knew the rye was strong, but still wondered about the elderflower potency, and it isn't overwhelming. It does run just on the sweet side, to me, but I love the interplay of everything.

This isn't in my wheelhouse, cognac/brandy only cocktails tend to fall a little flat for me (though I love them in split-based). This one hits right there - I can appreciate it, but it is a little too "smooth" for my tastes.

That said, pretty nicely balanced, though (given what I just said) I think it could take a little more Chartreuse. I think the saline is also playing a part in softening things, which I like.

As it warms (I might be odd, I often like my cocktails a bit warmer, nearing cellar temps), I feel it comes together much better.

I think my lemon was extra tart, as I needed to bump up the simple just a little. I was missing the absinthe, also, so I threw a few dashes atop my poured drink. It was still a little out of balance on the sour side, but I will give this one another go to see if I get the same result.

Love a Last Word. This is a good substitute should I ever be out of Maraschino. (Although I struggle to get a good foam with Fee Brothers)

I found that going a little heavy on the dashes (5-6 or so) usually works for me, along with a decently vigorous shake. Everyone's mileage varies, of course, and Fee's doesn't bring the mouthfeel (but I'm not a fan of a true egg white mouthfeel, so it works for me). Cheers, either way!

Ok, the first time reading the comments made me assess for a second. I really like the drink, and while I don't think it is a mess, I do not really see what all of the ingredients are bringing - specifically not seeing the nuance of the rye (I used Rittenhouse).

Ignoring that critique, the rum sets the base and the cognac fills in late. It's a fairly unique evolution that piques my interest.

Made this one with Lagavulin 11 year sweet peat (though I do not like it straight, it can work in cocktails) and Glendronach on the spirit side, regular Angostura and a dash of Fee's walnut on the bitters side. Perhaps due to the sweeter aspect of the peated Scotch, it is more balanced than I expected. I'd maybe add a [little bit of a] more aggressive Islay into the mix next time.

That said, the smoke does come through and adds a nice edge to this Boulevardier riff. I think this would work nicely with a cigar.

This one surprised me. I used a spiced/tiki bitters that I know has allspice in it as my only option (it also some other, tropical ingredients), and it was a great call for me. It added a slightly tropical edge to this whiskey sour.

For us, pineapple juice adds a wonderful flavour but can dull acidity and complexity. We think one can add a few drops of bitters to this cocktail to good effect. We usually go with grapefruit bitters but we're sure that others would work just as well.

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried some grapefruit bitters, but that didn't have the effect I hoped. I actually ended up adding a few drops of saline solution, and that made it a bit better. I think this one just isn't for me. I am fine with that.

Mine looks a little bit like the blue milk from Star Wars ;)

I actually made this one to specs, but it seems a little dull for some odd reason. Added it to my wish list to retry.

Anyhow, the acidity and sweetness are tamped down in the cocktail. I feel that at least one needs to step up to complete this one for me.

It has good bones; you just need to work on it a bit. I think the Fernet is a bit overpowering. Maybe lower the Fernet and increase the Aperol, or add Montenegro?

I read your comment in the recent comments and saw that I could make this cocktail. Plus I like Fernet and absinthe, so I went for it.

My initial though was that it was mostly fine. But the Fernet does tend to dominate things. As such, I agree with your assessment that it has potential and that the lowering of the Fernet would be the first adjustment.

The cherry dominates the front of this one, and I think my decision to use a barrel-proof bourbon (thanks to reason the Difford's selected it for cocktail of the day) helped a bit as there is a bite that forces through in the end. Wastn't sure what so little Luxardo would bring, but I think it does fill in at the edges by mid-taste.

I think I'd prefer a more whiskey-heavy ratio, but this grew on me. Though I think it could be almost too easy drinking with a regular proof bourbon.

For us, a good dash of grapefruit bitters woke this one up from its very pleasant slumber.

I tried another one, closer to specs (mainly I had to use Cocchi Americano as the dry vermouth). And it was pretty decent, but I liked my Apple Jack heavy version a little better.

But having your comment in my back pocket, I added a dash of grapefruit bitters to mine. It did seem to spackle some small holes I felt were in the cocktail - not changing it greatly, but improving it a bit. Thanks for the tip!

Ok, so I changed enough to likely make a new cocktail, but I subbed in lime juice for lemon and adjusted the ratios of the base spirits to be closer to 3:2 (vs 4:1). As such, the apple brandy really plays lead with the gin playing more accent in the back with the curaçao being more present there.

I looked for other cocktails, and I think maybe what I made is between this and a Star Daisy.

Had to Frankenstein the small amount of Falernum using lime juice, orgeat, and a ginger simple syrup for the entire drink (at least AI suggested that could work and it is a small amount).

I am actually surprised the elderflower liqueur doesn't power through. Sure, its floral notes are, well... noted. But the lime and, somewhat surprisingly, Peychaud's seem to counter it pretty well, allowing the bourbon to play a part. A sweet-tart, fairly balanced (maybe a lean to sweet in my version) cocktail.

I used some homemade raspberry liqueur that is almost certainly not as sweet as the proposed ingredient, so I added a scant bar spoon of simple syrup after a quick sip. This helped things, but a more expressive bourbon is needed (versus the Buffalo Trace I used).

The bourbon comes through nicely. But unless I mis-measured accidentally, the lime is presenting as out of balance. The specs don't seem out-of-whack, so maybe I did have my measurements off. I want to rate this a 3.5 bordering on 4, and need to give it another go to determine where it sits for me.

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.

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.

Quite herbal beyond the sweetness, which I do think is at least somewhat necessary, but can see the debate between how much. The bitter grassy gentian liqueur needs a counter, but I can't tell with one try if the yellow chartreuse brings enough on its own. Might need to experiment.

So I tried making this without the simple syrup and it does seem a bit of a different experience than the one the other day. The herbal notes are more pronounced and the components are in nice balance. I added just a couple drops of simple and the Chartreuse came forward. Interesting.

In the end, I have my preference leaning towards having this a bit less sweet than the recipe calls for.

Quite herbal beyond the sweetness, which I do think is at least somewhat necessary, but can see the debate between how much. The bitter grassy gentian liqueur needs a counter, but I can't tell with one try if the yellow chartreuse brings enough on its own. Might need to experiment.

I had to try this after reading the comments on the cocktail that inspired it. I went with standard strengths for this one - Rittenhouse, Still Autsin, and a blanco Mezcal and this is a more balanced, a bit sweeter, and ever so slightly smoky version of the Purgatory cocktail.

I think it is more approachable, and has very tame spice and a bit of herbal that leans into the Mezcal. I sorta miss the spice but like the Mezcal addition. Maybe the cask-strength rye I used for the original or split rye and Mezcal, skipping the bourbon would be something I could explore for my own preferences.