I really liked this cocktail, but as I’m a tweaker, I just had to modify it slightly.

12 fresh basil leaves

2 fl oz Cachaça unaged (Novo Fogo Silver)

3⁄4 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

1⁄2 fl oz Sugar syrup 'rich' (L&C Classic gum syrup)

2dash VÉGÉTAL de la Grande-Chartreuse (optional)

I just bought the Novo Fogo and was captivated by its bell pepper aroma and funky taste. A match made in heaven for the freshly picked sweet peppery basil from my garden.

You could cut back the sugar even more I think. I used gum syrup which is half as sweet as the rich syrup called for. I might try Italicus as a substitute for the sugar syrup next time.

I always like a splash of the VdlG-C when I’m making a cocktail with an herbal-forward profile and it certainly enhances the flavors here. I made the first one adhering to the OG and it was enjoyable, but if you have it, the addition to my second shake took it a little further.

I love the fact that you get a sense of terrior from this cachaça rather than a distilled-to-death vodka like cane juice spirit. It’s very much what I think of as an honest spirit, with no adulterations to fit a mass market palate.

It is a bit challenging in a simple drink like a caipirinha, where you might want a more neutral spirit. In other cocktails such as a Negroni, it really shines with that funky bell pepper undertone. I can’t wait to try this in a basil smash.

I assume you're referring to the English fizzy lemonade, or what we call lemon soda here in the US. Accordingly, I made a few adjustments to bring out the lemon without adding too much sugar from soda pop.

8 fresh Basil leaves
1 1⁄2 fl oz London Dry Gin (Hayman’s Royal Dock Navy Strength)
1-1/4 fl oz Limoncello liqueur (Lucano)
1 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/4 oz Simple syrup (Liber&Co Gum syrup)
2 fl oz Sparkling water (Topo Chico)

Like a fragrant refreshing soft drink that packs quite a punch if not sipped slowly. The veritable iron fist in a velvet glove from the overproof gin. The natural pairing of lemon and basil is sublime and the overproof gin brings the juniper and other botanicals into play. I might try a split base of limoncello and Italicus next time, as this also seems to fit into the general compatibility matrix of lemon and basil.

Very nice lemon blackberry hit and underlying sweet peppery basil foundation. I used a Yuzu forward gin to enhance the citrus aspect that also brings the botanicals into the mix.

The color of my cocktail looks very different than the pictured one. More purply blackberry,

3 fresh Basil leaves
2 fl oz Gin (Thresh&Winnow Forét)
1 fl oz Elderflower liqueur (St. Germain)
1⁄2 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
2 dash Grapefruit Bitters
2 dash VÉGÉTAL de la Grande-Chartreuse
2 fl oz Tonic water

Not your father’s G&T. The basil brings a fresh sweet and peppery herbal finish and tamps down the St Germain sweetness. I used a Shiso leaf gin to bring more botanicals to the table and a touch of the VdlG-C. Of course lemon and basil are a natural match.

I substituted 1/4 oz Green Chartreuse and 1/4 oz Italicus for the Yellow Chartreuse. I like the bigger herbal hit with less sweetness and a tad more citrusy than when I followed the OG with YC. There needs to be more cocktails that pair GC and Italicus, it's such a match made in heaven. See “Emerald Dream” on the Liber&Co site.

1 1⁄2 fl oz Straight rye whiskey (Barrel Rye Batch 4; 57.8%)

1⁄2 fl oz. Sweet red Vermouth (Cocchi Storico VdT)

1⁄3 fl oz. Mandarine Napoleon liqueur

1⁄6 fl oz. Amaro (Averna)

2 dash. Black Walnut bitters (Strongwater)

Stir ingredients over ice. Pour into a chilled Coupe. Garnish with a boozy cherry.

Delightful variant with a lot of interplay between the Mandarine liqueur and the dab of Averna. More than I expected. I added Black Walnut bitters because the OG still came off a bit sweet from the vermouth for my taste buds. The bitters puts it back in its place as a supporting actor. Using a spice bomb rye like the Barrel also helps to add interesting interactions from the ingredients with nothing singing solo as it should be.

I call my variant “Orange is the New Black Manhattan”.

1 1⁄2 fl oz Straight rye whiskey (Barrel Rye Batch 4; 57.8%)

1⁄2 fl oz. Sweet red Vermouth (Cocchi Storico VdT)

1⁄3 fl oz. Mandarine Napoleon liqueur

1⁄6 fl oz. Amaro (Averna)

2 dash. Black Walnut bitters (Strongwater)

Stir ingredients over ice. Pour into a chilled Coupe. Garnish with a boozy cherry.

Delightful variant with a lot of interplay between the Mandarine liqueur and the dab of Averna. More than I expected. I added Black Walnut bitters because the OG still came off a bit sweet from the vermouth for my taste buds. The bitters puts it back in its place as a supporting actor. Using a spice bomb rye like the Barrel also helps to add interesting interactions from the ingredients with nothing singing solo as it should be.

My variant:
1 1⁄2 oz Canadian blended whisky (CC Classic High Proof)

1 oz Aromatized wine (Cocchi Americano)

1⁄2 oz Cognac (Ragnaud-Saborin Fontvielle #35)

1 dash Bitters (The Bitter Truth Bogart’s Bitters)

The bitters in concert with the high proof (58%) Canadian Club gives it almost a Manhattan vibe, but the Cocchi bitterness and smooth Cognac take it somewhere else. Delicious!

Happy Chartreuse Day! Heres how I celebrated:

1⁄2 fl oz Green Chartreuse

1⁄2 fl oz Yellow Chartreuse

1⁄2 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

1⁄4 fl oz Classic Gum Syrup

3 dash Chartreuse Élixir Végétal

3 fl oz Brut champagne/sparkling wine

A light-ish cocktail with a lot of herbal/sour/sweet richness going on with fizzy lifting drinks keeping it frosty. My variant is a little more potent than the OG.

I made an equal parts variant that originated from the Hotel Christopher Saint-Barth, called an "Amber Dream". Absolutely brilliant.

Distiller’s Strength The Botanist Gin

Green Chartreuse

Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino

Campari

Add equal parts of all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. Stir until thoroughly chilled. Strain over a cube of block ice in a chilled OF glass. Express an orange twist over the glass and use as garnish.

Not your father’s Negroni. Simple to make, but the GC really adds some interesting counter balance to the Campari. I like the extra heft from the DS The Botanist. Overall it’s kind of fruity, bittersweet and herbal like you’d expect.

Really different mix. Fruity, botanical, but lots of bitterness from the PeM and Cynar. The Plymouth Sloe is a quality liqueur, so cheaper substitutes may not mix so well. Kind of has a Negroni vibe, but in a very different way.

My variant:
1 1⁄2 fl oz Vodka (Weber Ranch)

3/4 fl oz Fernet liqueur (R. Jelínek)

1⁄2 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

1/2 fl oz Simple syrup

6 drop Saline solution

2 dash Grapefruit bitters

Bittersweet from the Fernet I used and sweetness and sour from the sugar and lemon. I deviated from the OG by: upping the Fernet ;using simple instead of rich syrup; and, adding the grapefruit bitters.

The vodka is an oddball made from blue agave spirit redistilled to produce a grain-free neutral spirit. Still has some residual sweetness that a totally neutral vodka doesn’t have.

I eschewed the cucumber and went in a chocolate direction.

1 oz. Gin (Roku Minori Select Edition)

1 oz. Cacao Nib Infused Campari

1 oz. Amaro Montenegro

1 Barspoon Espresso Liqueur (Borghetti)

2 dashes Chocolate bitters (TBT)

This variant on the Mulholland Drive recipe features the addition of cacao nib Campari and chocolate bitters. I used the Roku for its fruity taste and floral aroma with a back end of bitterness. I really like the OG recipe, but this one brings chocolate in play to transform the espresso into more of a mocha.

A very mature drink, complex and bitter. The first few sips gives the impression it should be sweetened a little, but that would ruin the cocktail. This is one of those rare cocktails that needs your palate to get accustomed to it and gets better the more you drink of it.

100% agree. It's a difficult cocktail to get your head around, but the reward is significant.

My recipe:
1 fl oz Peated Single Malt Whisky (Bowmore 8yo)

5⁄6 fl oz Elderflower liqueur (St. Germain)

1⁄2 fl oz Blended Scotch whisky (Chivas Regal 12)

1⁄2 fl oz Gentian liqueur (Suze)

1⁄2 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

1 1⁄2 fl oz. Sparkling Water (S. Pellegrino)

Kind of a wake-up call to the palate. Smoky, bitter, floral and tart with the effervescence providing and all too easy drinkability. Keeps getting better the further the level drops in the glass.

My suggestion is to use a very peaty single malt to help counterbalance the sweetness and bitterness from the mix of ingredients. That Bowmore has a very phenolic creosote pitch character to produce a balanced cocktail.

Just added a couple of dashes of VÉGÉTAL de la Grande-Chartreuse. Makes a great cocktail even better.

My recipe:
1 fl oz Peated Single Malt Whisky (Bowmore 8yo)

5⁄6 fl oz Elderflower liqueur (St. Germain)

1⁄2 fl oz Blended Scotch whisky (Chivas Regal 12)

1⁄2 fl oz Gentian liqueur (Suze)

1⁄2 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

1 1⁄2 fl oz. Sparkling Water (S. Pellegrino)

Kind of a wake-up call to the palate. Smoky, bitter, floral and tart with the effervescence providing and all too easy drinkability. Keeps getting better the further the level drops in the glass.

My suggestion is to use a very peaty single malt to help counterbalance the sweetness and bitterness from the mix of ingredients. That Bowmore has a very phenolic creosote pitch character to produce a balanced cocktail.

I reversed the reversed proportions to great effect.

60ml Gin (Thresh&Winnow Forét)

45ml Sake (Dassai 45 Junmai Daiginjo)

5ml Maraschino liqueur (Lazzaroni)

Stir ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass. Fine strain into a chilled Coupe glass. Garnish with salt-preserved Sakura blossoms.

This resulted in an awesome martini due to the Japanese-influenced Shiso gin. It seemed a shame to cut back according to the OG recipe.

This a great riff on TLW. Hard to come up with something new since this is probably one of the cocktails having the most variants. Here’s my tweak on the OG:

1 fl oz Espadin Mezcal (Montelobos)

1 fl oz Yellow Chartreuse

1 fl oz Maraschino liqueur (Lazzaroni)

1 fl oz Lime Support Pseudo Juice

1 fl oz Sparkling Water (S. Pellegrino)

Honestly, I could probably knock back several of these if I had nowhere to go and was sitting oceanside on a beach being served.

Made two of these side by side. One with freshly squeezed line juice and one with Pseudo Juice using the STB recipe. Indistinguishable! Nicely refreshing with the aforementioned bitter/sour/sweet profile. A new favorite cocktail using Suze.

1 oz Gin (Plymouth Navy Strength)

1 oz Campari infused with cacao nibs

1 oz Amaro Montenegro

1⁄6 oz Coffee liqueur (Kōloa)

4 dash Cucumber bitters (TBT)

The OG calls for a cucumber-forward gin. I prefer the Plymouth Navy Strength when mixing up strong flavors. To compensate, I added a healthy splash of cucumber bitters, which also helps tamp down the sweetness.

I also diverged by using the cacao infused Campari I made a couple of days ago. The combination of the cacao and coffee liqueur really brings that element forward even though there’s only about a barspoon’s worth of the coffee liqueur. That Kaua’i coffee liqueur is sooo good.

Next time I’m going to try using just regular Campari to see if the coffee is subjugated to the background. As someone who enjoys a damn good cup of coffee like the director of the eponymous film, I feel it’s only fitting to amp it up a bit with this variant.