I've made this recipe dozens of times now, and agree it's possibly the best cocktail ever when perfect. But when I use ground sugar instead of Monin syrup it often doesn't come out perfect.

With ground sugar the sweetness tastes technically correct and the customers (my friends) are happy, but to me it lacks this zingy brightness on the tongue that it has when I use Monin syrup and a dash of water.

To put it another way: why does the recipe say to use ground sugar – then add chilled water? This seems contradictory.

Does anyone happen to know if Monin Coconut Syrup is a good substitute for Coco Lopez?

It’s also International Worker’s Day! I’ll be making something red with Havana Club…

I made this with Kahlúa and slightly bitter supermarket orange juice and it worked well. Now I've tried again with freshly squeezed orange and Galliano liqueur and it doesn't! Too nutty, too sweet, too acidic. Not sure what I'm doing wrong – maybe the wrong kind of oranges?

As with pesto alla genovese you have to really mash the hell out of fresh, springy basil to get the oil out of the plant and onto your tongue. I also put the gin and lemon juice in and a quick stir before adding the ice. Tasted amazing.

For me the marmalade simply refused to dissolve in the gin. So I put orange juice in a pot with some brown sugar and reduced it until fairly thick, but not too thick to mix into the drink. Worked very well, but I’ve never had a decent version of the marmalade version to compare!

I made this with Dewar's White Label and it was so-so — might be great with a less oaky whisky