G. M. Genovese

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.

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.

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.

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 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?

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.