Needed a red cocktail to celebrate Canada's win today. Maybe not bright red, but close enough and more importantly a delicious cocktail. First time last year I noted it was a tad tart and sweet, so followed J Hinojos suggestion below and upped the cognac but only by 5ml. I also ever so slightly decreased the D.O.M. Much better balanced for me, but I rather suspect the big variable will be the limes on hand.
Second time having as per the recipe. An excellent cocktail and definitely on the dry/sour side of the scale. Notwithstanding Simon Sedgley's comment regarding the amount of Chartreuse, I rather think it would work nicely with a tad more, not less! Aside from ones sweet / bitter preferences, one's preferred Chartreuse amount will likely vary with the sweetness / tartness of the lemons one uses. Regardless, highly recommended as prescribed.
Much as we love Yellow Chartreuse, in this instance we reduce it to 20ml and up all other ingredients to 25ml. No offense to the good monks...all things in moderation, as perhaps they would agree. Although Mr Wilde had another view on that subject which maybe the monks smile at when it comes to their tipple.
I understand where you are coming from, but I wonder if maybe the tartness of the lemons was a factor? i.e. if not overly tart, maybe less Chartreuse / sweetness needed? Having tried this twice now, I am considering repeating with 5ml more or maybe decreasing the lemon by 5ml.
Fortunate enough to have some Amer Picon, I tried this again. Intrigued by the origin story, I sought out the GumboPage.com site referenced by Difford's under History. Difford's indicates the each ingredient has been reduced by one third, but I believe in fact only the amount of gin has been altered. I wanted to try the original recipe calling for 2oz of gin but as I only had Plymouth Gin Navy Strength, I reduced it as per Difford's adaptation thinking it might approximate the original. Very tasty but 1) as per comment below, maybe some acid would elevate this drink, and 2) I won't be driving tonight!
Was looking for an easy to put together cocktail and found this in Diffords Trinity Cocktail list. As others have mentioned, a very nice drink. In case any one was undecided about the optional water, for this drink I would suggest trying it with out +/- a longer shake. I added the water as my ice is "dry" but found it too dilute for my taste. Having said that, this is a definite repeat but without the extra water.
Having tried this two days ago, I wanted to do a back to back comparison using the PDT recipe: 1.5oz rye, only 1 oz Dubonnet, and more Cointreau .25 oz. And it is stirred, not shaken. I preferred this with less Dubonnet but it misses something by not being shaken as per the original recipe. And I don't just mean the "scummy head". Lost is some aroma, complexity, bitterness, and probably mouthfeel the Regal Shake purportedly can impart.
Just excellent, and while I love an Aviation, I like this even better. As the description notes, the addition of orange very much tames the Crème de Violette which for me can be a tad too floral and prominent in an Aviation. Curious about the name for which I have a theory. Difford's notes that the original Gypsy Serenade was created by Mischa Borr, Maestro, The Waldorf-Astoria, New York City. Before taking on that post he was a respected concert violinist and would have been very familiar with the piece "Gypsy Serenade" composed by celebrated violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler under the pseudonym Robert Valdez in 1919. Just a thought!
I had to try this intrigued by the description of a "scummy head" and that is exactly what one gets using the recommended Regal Shake! As to the cocktail itself, very tasty, but I may try the PDT variation next time which uses only 30ml of Dubonnet and ups the Cointreau to 7.5 (and which is stirred rather than shaken). Elsewhere I have read that the cocktail was in fact named after the American boxer Dave Deshler (no relation to the hotel Deshler) who fought from 1903-1917. While I can't comment on the veracity of the naming, I'm inclined to believe the story provided above in Difford's description.
Tried this again but didn't shake this time as per Kappeler's original recipe, but stirred as Difford's instructs. I also modified it as I was craving some chocolate and came across a version using 50ml / 20ml / 20ml with 3 drops of chocolate bitters (I used 5!) rather than Angostura. Superb!
Just curious...are you using rye or low/no rye bourbon?
Sorry for the confusion; I mistyped! I used rye, Lot 40, not Bourbonb. I realized it just after I posted and unfortunately there is no edit option.
Tried this again prompted by recent email from Difford's Guide revisiting Simon's selection of the 20 best Maraschino Liqueur cocktails. I rated this excellent (5) the first time last year but made a note to try with upping the Bourbon which I did to 1oz. I will be changing rating to 5+!
Tried this again having first time rated as a true favourite. As the original recipe called for Chartreuse unspecified, on second iteration, as I love both versions of Chartreuse, I used as have others yellow instead of green. Obviously which you prefer is a function of ones personal preference , but having tried both now, I believe green works better.
Tried this a day early (its Cocktail of the Day tomorrow) and am glad I did. An excellent drink. Unfortunately I was out of gomme syrup so used rich simple syrup instead. As a result the mouthfeel was not as full as one would expect, but wouldn't hesitate recommending this regardless. A definite repeat and will do so when I make a fresh batch of gomme syrup. As an aside, I know that some consider an even number of cherries or any garnish for that matter is bad luck, but as I love cherries I took my chances and used as pictured two!
Very much enjoyed this drink but it was missing for me some complexity which I attribute to having only Reynac Pineau des Charentes. I would like to revisit this should I be lucky enough to source a bottle of Ferrand Pineau. At first I considered reducing the simple syrup to account for what I thought might be added sweetness from the Reynac. However, being the first time making this drink, I followed the recipe and didn't find it overly sweet. I'm not sure however it required 2 drops of saline as I think it muted the drink, although maybe that was more a function of a less complex Reynac Pineau than the salt.
Had to try this as I by fluke I came across a bottle of Yellow Chartreuse for sale at a boutique wine store attached to a lovely restaurant at which my wife and I dined. While I find many cocktails with orange juice hit and miss, this is an excellent cocktail, perfectly balanced. It hits all the right notes for me. I miss the garnish though, and on next iteration, I will try expressing an orange zest twist over the cocktail and then use as a garnish!
I was given a bottle of Mezcal by my sister-in-law and this cocktail popped up in my Difford's cocktail search. Excellent drink, and not just as was noted below, good for those who don't think they like Mezcal, but also for those who might find traditional gin cocktails too potent. Curious though about adding agave syrup as has also been suggested. I found this with the Cocchi Americano Bianco to be plenty sweet. Indeed for me, this was closer to a 5 than 6 on the above sweet/dry scale. Highly recommended.
Excellent drink (Havana Club 3 year rum and homemade grenadine) Maybe I am becoming too used to drinking though; the descriptor above notes this is "a seriously strong drink in flavour and alcohol" and I have to admit I didn't find it that alcoholic. Maybe I over diluted it with a long shake (I like my drinks cold) coupled with the added water (Ice was dry)? I will compare to the 15th edition version which from notes scribbled in the margins, I also very much liked back in 2021 which uses 45ml each of rum and cognac. And next time I try the above recipe I will shake less sans added water. .
It has been a year since last drinking this cocktail at which time I upped the gin to 2 oz as per Difford's 15th edition recipe. This year I went back to the above recipe and having tried this twice with 1.5oz of gin, I can report that for me 2 oz is the way to go.
So tried this again as per the recipe, i.e. using Campari (as opposed to using Aperol or Amer Picon to cut bitterness which some found overpowering). As is so often the case, Difford's / Jamie Boudreaux's recipe is perfect unlike my first modification. Campari is definitely the way to go with this cocktail in my view.
Tried this tonight after having put it on wish list last year when it was "Cocktail of the Day". I debated using Difford's recipe or as suggested by others, Death & Co's. Settling on Difford's version, I agree with his comment below that this results in a spirit and vermouth-led cocktail rather than a citrusy sour cocktail likely to result were one to use the Death & Co recipe. While generally I'm not a huge rye fan, this is a delicious and well balanced drink. I should add as per his suggestion, I upped both the rye from 1.5 oz to 1.75 oz as I used 86 proof rye, and .25 oz of Jeffrey Morgenthaler's grenadine recipe.
Interesting range of comments with respect to Difford's vs "original" version which if I interpret comments correctly, differ over primarily how much Maraschino / sweetness one prefers in this drink. I always start with the Difford's recipe and did so in this instance notwithstanding usually avoiding cocktails with orange juice. To my surprise, presumably because of the lemon, I found this to be a lovely and well balanced cocktail. Not too sweet, and for me more importantly, not too orange forward. I will compare to the "original" recipe at some point.
Very nice cocktail which to me is reminiscent of a Between the Sheets drink with the addition of Grenadine.
Very pleasing combination of Combier and Cocchi in a Cognac sour. Could definitely do a double... Delicious!
I agree, this is an excellent drink and warrants a larger portion size!
Notwithstanding other's concern this might be too sweet with the addition of sugar syrup, I followed recipe. While not too sweet, it was very cassis forward as would be expected, so if you aren't a big fan of blackcurrants, this one may not be for you.