Chris Brislawn

I, too, was confused by the specification of both lemon and orange flamed zest twists, so I used one of each. According to Death & Co.'s "Modern Classic Cocktails," which is probably as close to Phil Ward's original recipe as we're gonna get, the official garnish is a flamed orange "coin," as shown in Difford's photos. I've watched video of Dale DeGroff igniting flaming orange coins and it looks like you get just one good flaming squeeze per coin (don't burn your fingers). I don't do coins and can attempt several pyrotechnic squeezes out of a good-size zest strip. A great Negroni variation with more body than the standard recipe. And no, I haven't read the book.

Using a primary shot of overproof white rum makes it a nuclear daiquiri, adding a Smith & Cross secondary makes it thermonuclear. No idea why this was originally made with Yellow Chartreuse; just because it 's yellow (Strega??) it doesn't necessarily belong in a banana daiquiri. As others have noted, Creme de Banane (I had Tempus Fugit) works much better. I also think splitting the citrus between lime & lemon works better, and I didn't miss the Xanthan gum. I did add a couple dashes of pimento dram, though. Finally, this clearly belongs in a tiki mug.

Adding just a hint of fire & brimstone in the form of 1 tsp mezcal is a nice riff on Kilgore's Purgatory. Thematically, it seems most appropriate to use the smoky Del Maguey Vida de Muertos.

Made it with Milagro Reposado; no Punt e Mes so used Alessio Rosso, which was great in this drink and works well with Difford's chocolate garnish suggestion. Squares of chocolate do not skewer well on toothpicks or cocktail swords and a square of chocolate at the bottom of a cocktail glass looks more like a mistake than a garnish so I did something I've done before (e.g., "Munich Negroni Western Style") and grated a light dusting of chocolate over the drink, which enhances the nose as well.

R. Elgar proposed more traditional Manhattan proportions for this, with 3/4 oz rosso vermouth and 1/4 oz Benedictine for 2 oz rye, which works well particularly if you offset the added sweetness of Benedictine by using a vermouth amaro if you want an aperitif cocktail rather than a dessert drink. I've now tried this with Punt e Mes, Dopo Teatro, and Tempus Fugit "Alessio" (which I also regard as a vermouth amaro), and all work well for that purpose. Elgar's early comment referred to "an absinthe...made in New Orleans," which had to be Herbsaint, and Marie T. Straus recommended Herbsaint, too, so I tried rinsing an Old Fashioned, per C. Lopez, with Herbsaint instead of absinthe; a very N'awlins touch.

Don't know how you miss Mardi Gras as an occasion on the Difford's Guide calendar! Good excuse to revisit and tweak the Grand Sazerac.