Am I in the minority thinking this has a touch too much maraschino? I used Tanqueray, Cocchi di Torino, and St George Bruto Americano. Maybe the vermouth (and/or the Bruto) is over-accentuating the maraschino? What do you think?... Good drink nonetheless. Just arguably a bit too fruity on the front end. It's real close though to my house recipe for a Martinez, minus the orange bitters. Hmm...

A bit of a robust take was my make: Dad's Hat Pennsylvania Rye, St. George Bruto Americano, Amaro dell'Etna, PF Dry Curacao... The herbals border on tincture in its expressions. Fairly intense, but I did serve it up... I adore bitter cocktails, so this was right on point. Sultry, rugged, savory... This might be a new top-tier favorite.

Fridge-chilled Cara Cara orange and Bruto Americano. Didn't chill the drink with ice, but made a 1/3 serving just to test my wand frother. Pretty fantastic (the flavor, but not so much the froth at this volume/temp).

Tried this with Rhum Clement Blanc 40% and Rothman & Winter Orchard Peach. I could see the potential, but it was missing something... Tried it again adding a dash of Bitter Truth Peach Bitters and 5 ml of rich simple, and that accentuated and rounded out the peach flavor, improving the drink... Pretty tasty.

Big agree. Just made a double. Squeezed it into a 16oz glass. What's your take on the Botanivore gin? St. George makes a great pear brandy.

I plan on visiting them at some point in the next couple years. I've tried 4 of their gins and Terroir is my favorite, but trying it against the Botanivore is a goal. Their Absinthe Verte is excellent. My buddy gifted me a half bottle of Baller, and that was stellar too. The pear brandy is something I can obtain and now I guess I should get a bottle and report back. Cheers!

Liking that 'strange, dissonant harmony'... Just made a version substituting Crème de Noyaux for the amaretto plus half a spoon of orgeat. Was quite good, added a slight grenadine note. A lot of room to tinker with the base spirits.

I'm well overdue for trying Crème de Noyaux. I will take you up on your suggestion(s).

Frankenshake version... 50 ml The Botanist, 5 ml Rothman & Winter Peach (apricot would've been better), 5 ml rose hip spread, 2.5 ml each rose water and rich simple... not enough sweetness, too much rose water.. Of course, I don't mind revealing my disappointing experiments for your consideration.

I eschewed the rose water and simple syrup in favor of some Dalmatian rose hip preserves I'd bought on impulse, but never really used... Plantation 3 stars and Luxardo Triplum... Turned out a lovely drink with a pink hue perhaps reminiscent of Matthew's result... Question now is what else I can make with the rose hip spread that's as palatable.

Oops, forgot... I used a tablespoon (15 ml) of the rose hip spread. Probably would've benefited from 2.5-5 ml of rich simple... But even at that does of spread, I did taste the rose, though it's far from as concentratingly intense as said water... I do have rose water. I'm tempted to have another go at this with the prescribed ingredients.

I eschewed the rose water and simple syrup in favor of some Dalmatian rose hip preserves I'd bought on impulse, but never really used... Plantation 3 stars and Luxardo Triplum... Turned out a lovely drink with a pink hue perhaps reminiscent of Matthew's result... Question now is what else I can make with the rose hip spread that's as palatable.

It's good. Fairly tart. I don't have Abbott's bitters, so I used Bitter Truth Bogart's Bitters, which I didn't quite detect in the final product. Willett 4-yr rye, as usual... Seems like it's missing some texture/body. Also seems like a drink one could sub in apple brandy or Cognac.

Made a small sample of the 2:1:1 right after (ice might've been too wet though) and that was closer to what I was hoping for. More distinct. More maple, mouthfeel improved, and I detected more than a hint of the bitters (the dose amounted to a dash).

It's good. Fairly tart. I don't have Abbott's bitters, so I used Bitter Truth Bogart's Bitters, which I didn't quite detect in the final product. Willett 4-yr rye, as usual... Seems like it's missing some texture/body. Also seems like a drink one could sub in apple brandy or Cognac.

To my taste, this is not balanced, and the ginger is lost in the citrus. I increased the ginger from 2 slices to 4, reduced the lemon juice by 1/4 oz and increased the OJ by 1/4 oz, and liked it much better.

Rick, I took your suggestions and utilized what I had on hand and it turned out great. Glad I read the comments before making this... Willett 4-yr rye (out of bourbon), sumo mandarin (tastes good), Canadian maple syrup, plus 4 drops of ginger bitters... Surprised how near-perfect the result was.

No tea bag. Sloughed off about a bag's worth of loose tea in my hand for it. Quebec maple syrup. Wild Turkey 101 and Bitter Truth Bogart's bitters... Wow, does the loose tea impart a crazy dynamic flavor, even with my standard 5-10 sec "let's workshop this" stir. Served it up... Pretty mesmerizing result.

The initial taste is a touch off-putting (boozy, grainy from the rye?), but the aftertaste is pretty stellar with the flavors marrying and the vanilla bitters emerging. I did use a sugar-free Coke, which seems to leave room for additional cherry syrup flavor that I'm craving. My house bourbon and rye are both over 100 proof, so you may have a different take with standard-strength brands... I just got a bottle of Bob's Vanilla Bitters (which I can't imagine using that often), but I've been lucky with the first few cocktails I've tried it in, this one included.

I didn't have Canadian whisky on hand, but I did use a maple syrup from Quebec I was gifted recently. The Clonakilty Irish whiskey I used is a bit of an overkill. I did very much taste the character of that, and the other ingredients 'enhanced' it in a pleasing way. One doesn't need to wastefully expend good spirits in a drink like this. This might benefit from a dash of grapefruit bitters instead, due to the fact that the grapefruit juice was rather buried in the mix.

Meletti or Averna sounds preferable to the Amaro dell'Etna I used in this. I was, however, quite delighted with the flavors I got. Oh so moreish.

I didn't see the note about the salt and zest garnish, but I still found it to be truly delicious and delightful. The salty savouriness of the sherry pairs well with the ever so slight vegetal tinge within the sugarcane notes of the rum (I used Planteray 3 Stars). This is bordering on one of my favourite Daiquiri variations.

I just used Plantaray 3 Stars as well. More than serviceable. The amontillado I had though did stick out a bit much. Not sure to what intensity fino played at, if that's what you used... There's a peculiar toasted coconut note late in the aftertaste. Did you get that too?

Surprised by the results and curious to test other white rums now... Vanilla syrup: 2.5 vanilla extract, 12.5 2:1 cane simple (turned out good). Rum: Plantation 3 Stars. 2 drops saline... I can see this being better with Bacardi... Made it a second time with Clement Rhum 40% - too dominant, balance thrown way off, but still more than palatable... Always up for trying cocktails with cardamom, and the measure here is spot on.

Ooh, seems like I wasn't clear in my take - Plantation/Plantaray 3 Stars is excellent for this. Rght in the pocket.

Surprised by the results and curious to test other white rums now... Vanilla syrup: 2.5 vanilla extract, 12.5 2:1 cane simple (turned out good). Rum: Plantation 3 Stars. 2 drops saline... I can see this being better with Bacardi... Made it a second time with Clement Rhum 40% - too dominant, balance thrown way off, but still more than palatable... Always up for trying cocktails with cardamom, and the measure here is spot on.

Blend: Byrrh, Tonewood Burton
Burton: 3.7% abv, malt: Golden Promise, Maris Otter, hops: EKG, Centennial

I don't know why I would drink this combo, but it wasn't half bad. Downed it in 3 sips. I'm still exploring Byrrh cocktails. I could see the right beer having this result in a dynamic concoction.