Andre Derailleur

Well, "Claret wine (Bordeaux red)" would translate most closely downunder to a Coonawarra or Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon. A Loire Valley Cabernet Franc (a parent of Cabernet Sauvignon) would, we think, be worth a try also.

Yes, despite living near Maragaret River I just made it with Coonawarra Cabernet. It is one of my favourites, with or without egg white. However I am beginning to prefer rye whiskey versions which just seem to have a little extra spice.

Lovely, but surely a variation on the Habitant cocktail from Quebec.

The measure is one and one-third but I agree the the 1/3 fraction could be clearer and I’ll see if this is something we can improve upon.

Thanks. I should have been able to work that out myself!

Thanks, John. I've reduced all quantities by a 1/3 so it better fits the glass and I'll reshoot the image in the coming weeks. Present photo is pre-digital photography.

The “shot/parts” measurement says 11/3 which is nearly 4 shots of vodka!

Yes, lemon and bisongrass (with 1.5 oz), with some dryness from the wine, but not much more.

No falernum, but ChatGPT recommended pimento dram and clove garnish as a substitute. A pleasant margarita with some spice. I think I will stick to standard margarita on the rocks or Tommy’s margarita.

A bare bones whiskey sour which suits Irish whiskey, though I only used 2 dashes of bitters (1 angostura and 1 peychauds). You need to let the Irish shine through.

So it is Milano because the restaurant is Milanese, but the main ingredient (Aperol) comes from Padua near Venice.

An enigmatic cocktail, complex and subtle. For us, it was a bit scattered straight out of the shaker. So our humble advice is to just let it rest a minute or two after pouring and allow the drop in temperature to bring everything into a lovely balance.

I’m not sure the complexity produces a great drink. Mind you I am a bit wary of mixing dry and sweet vermouths: it usually doesn’t work for me.

The whiskey elder and apple combination is tasty, but very sweet as specified. I preferred a 4:1:1 ratio with a slice of lemon to add just a touch of acid, plus a dash of bitters to give some more depth.

The orange liqueur is good, but I am not a fan of a perfect manhattan and variations. I will stick to sweet manhattans.

Excellent sour. I think Meyer lemon is closest in flavour to yuzu so I used them.

So Antoni makes a point: how does this "riff" have no ingredients in common with the 'Last Word" Is it just the proportions, because I am sure we could name dozens of other drinks with the same proportions.

Rated this four as specified, but the tried reversing the proportions of schnapps and vermouth. Now I rate it five: vanilla, then vermouth like a vodka martini followed with a restrained apple sweetness. I did use my homemade crab apple liqueur.

Used a Spanish sherry, but naked amaretto from Altona, of all places. Lovely after dinner.

Celebration of a dockers win!

Light as a feather yet delightfully tasty. Some cocktails just have a bit of magic about them. We used a Rutherglen aged dry flor which made the tasty tasty-tasty.

Used a Spanish sherry, but naked amaretto from Altona, of all places. Lovely after dinner.

I do like parfait amour, but I thought the balance was better for my taste with a touch less amour and a bit more vermouth: 2 vodka, 1 vermouth, quarter parfait

As with tomato and basil, Bourbon and Grenadine were made for each other. We went with lime instead of lemon, thinking that the citrus needed a bit more kick to stand up to the prescribed volume of Grenadine. A very delicious cocktail.

Have homemade grenadine and it was great with this, though I did enjoy a small extra slug of whiskey.

Not just the Americano and the Negroni, but the origin of the Sbagliato as well.

Sloe gin certainly complimented the plum. I needed. Splash more whiskey to balance the ginger ale. I didn’t put half a shot of peychauds in, but three dashes seemed enough. Lovely drink.

Possibly an espresso rumtini or a double black would match the "gunfire breakfast" better than a vodka based espresso martini.