Simple and delicious - it preserves the roasty earthiness of the espresso while giving a little bit sweetness and knocking the edge off of the bitterness.
This is a sleeper in the Difford's files - with some modification this is an excellent cocktail, with a delicious combo of pineapple and passionfruit flavors and bright citrus! A very appealing combination of a margarita and classic tiki flavors of pineapple/passionfruit/citrus.
I don't have ready access to passionfruit (and the directions on the Cointreau site are bad - 1 *ml* of syrup!?!) - so I checked to see what the internet had to say about subbing syrup or puree for fresh passion fruit, and based on that I decided 15 ml of Real Passion Fruit Puree Infused Syrup was appropriate (I also have Bigallet Passion Fruit syrup, but I prefer the flavor the Real brand). That made for a delicious cocktail. And, apologies to Cointreau, it is even better if orange juice is used in place of Cointreau - as you may expect it is brighter, with a bit less sweetness and a little more tartness.
Highly skewed to orange flavor, and quite sweet. I did not enjoy.
Like an Amaretto Sour with an initial hit of cherry. I liked the cherry, but with a quick transition to amaretto dominating the flavor I was reminded that I don't really care for that liqueur.
A great highball for Fernet fans - the sweetness of the cola (and the high 3:1 cola - spirit ratio) work well with the bracingly bitter alpine notes of the Fernet. Just add a little more Coke if the highball has too much Fernet for your taste.
The effect of the mezcal and pineapple juice are apparent - I'm sure the bourbon and cinnamon syrup are contributing (esp sweetness) but the flavor notes are far in the background. A tasty cocktail esp. if you like sweetish grilled pineapple (I thought it was very good).
This is a very familiar cocktail, nearly indistinguishable from a classic daiquiri. Citrus notes dominate, with the unique flavor notes of tsipouro in the distant background (I really needed to search for them). My personal preference for daiquiri is served over shaved ice - and I found I enjoyed this cocktail better when served over shaved ice than when served up or over the rocks.
A nice sour - I didn't have Difford's Falernum and tried a 5 ml Velvet Falernum/5 ml 5 yr El Dorado mix. That probably hamstrung the cocktail - while it was tasty and a bit tart, it didn't have much breadth in the taste. If I am able to get some Difford's Falernum I will definitely revisit this cocktail.
Separated brom the Mastiha Sour recipe by a little sweetness and a dash of Bolivar bitters - both are very good and refreshing but I liked this just a bit more. I think the bitters add more interesting and complementary flavor notes to the already delicious combo of mastiha and (sweetened) lemon juice.
Very similar to the Mediterranean Sour - this is slight more tart/less sweet, and has no bitters. The mastiha works very well with the sweetened lemon, and is delicious, although I do prefer the addition of the bitters in the Mediterranean Sour a bit more. Both are very good, and you will certainly enjoy this version if you don't have the Bolivar Bitters called for in the Med Sour recipe.
A great cocktail - and winner of the Best Name of 2026 (so far)! The herbal notes of the Genepy and Braulio work wonderfully with the botanicals of the gin. This is the rare cocktail where the Maraschino notes are far in the background (you could possibly make this without Maraschino at all) (I did mix the ingredients and let them rest in my refrigerator for ~30 min before pouring over ice - maybe the Maraschino notes are more volatile?)
I used Plantaray 3 Star - a very nice highball - simple and refreshing. Also note that this easily takes a dash or two of bitters - this is a great way to highlight the way different bitters (e.g. Bolivar, Tiki, Jamaican, Daiquiri) will impact the flavor of a cocktail.
Nice, but I think it is overly sweet, with the whiskey falling short of asserting itself.
Heat from the rye is moderated pleasantly by the sweetness of the port and liqueur, and the apricot flavor is clearly present but not overbearing. A nice Manhattan variant.
Gin, jager and bitter - you taste all individually and then together - very nice for dedicated fans of Negronis and bitter-leaning cocktails.
Delicious - faint background of rum, with marachino much more prominent, plus nice lime tartness. Just a bit on the dry side (despite the syrups added).
Like smoky water - very clean on the palate, but with prominent smokiness (not overwhelming, but it is dominating). Sake is present in the distant background, and Italicus is not notable. I think that maybe 10-15ml of triple sec (e.g. Dry Curacao) would be a nice substitute - boosting the citrus. Maybe also using lime bitters in place of margarita.
Very nice - a great way to enjoy sake! I used blanco vermouth (I prefer it to dry vermouth). A showcase for the sake flavors while keeping enough gin to remind you it is there, is more flavorful (and less boozy) than straight gin, and more clean on the palate than straight sake.
An unexpected flavor combo - if you like mezcal and are looking to push the envelope this is something you should try. Mezcal is the dominant flavor here, with the creme de cassis in a supporting background role. The lime juice gives some brightness without really impacting flavor, and the ginger flavor notes complement the mezcal and cassis (IMO).
Lime and tequila are great combination! But adding ginger beer detracts from this, and while not bad, it isn't as good as I hoped.
Made with JF Haden's Mango liqueur and Jarritos mango soda: Nice fresh mango at first sip, with tequila and lime emerging shortly afterward, and the tequila lasting into the finish. A decent, refreshing mango based highball.
An unexpected and interesting combination - not appealing enough to be a favorite but it is good. Quite sweet - the amaretto and hint of banana start the taste, with the cynar bitter following with the smoky mezcal. Mezcal lingers in the finish as all else dr0ps off quickly.
Very basic, but I like the combo. Made with Kahlua - so a bit syrupy and sweet, but the tequila boozy heat dissipates the stickiness quickly.
Cynar flavors with applejack heat - a good sipper/shot.