Just want to say I greatly appreciate everything you do, Simon. I’m not a bartender nor an expert mixologist by any means, but I am a pretty avid hobbyist, and my friends and family know me for my ability to make much more sophisticated cocktails than the vast majority of bars and restaurants in my area. And I mostly owe this to YOUR website—not only has it been absolutely instrumental in my mixology education over the last 4 years, but remains my go-to resource for everything to do with cocktail-making. Plus, the fact that it’s been completely free the majority of that time is truly impressive. And it generally continues to be free to use, just with certain specialized features requiring a payed membership… which is completely understandable.

Been waiting to try this for a while, as I’m a huge fan of The Last Word and its many riffs. I used hquality ingredients, took my first sip, and felt a tad disappointed… but then saw the garnish. So I expressed a lemon twist over the drink and tossed it in.

This utterly TRANSFORMED the drink! I already knew that citrus zest can make a significant difference, but now I see it can make ALL the difference! Although I suppose it could also be that this drink simply grew on me after more sipping…

Just tried the original recipe, then adjusted it according to your suggestion. And I 100% agree—this really elevated the drink for me!

Tried the original recipe—too much pineapple, even though I used 1/4 less than called for. I dug around and found the Harlem cocktail is very similar, just without basil and simple, less pineapple, and adding maraschino liqueur. I kept the basil and loved this version… but still a BIT too sweet.

So I googled other variants of the Harlem and found the ‘Updated Harlem’ from NYT cooking, which adds lemon juice and angostura. Now THAT version (keeping the basil) gets a 4.5 to 5 stars from me!