Unfortunately for me a bit average. I’m not sure where the Averna went but it didn’t add a lot to a standard sour.

For me, just a bit too much Angostura Bitters which obscured the Maraschino.

Martinis can become very divisive. For me, this was great. A grown up drink that isn’t hard to like.
It also works with a couple of pickled onions!

Fruity and very easy to drink. Making it with 60ml of gin, to me, adds more depth to the drink.

I liked it. Light, slightly sweet, a touch of bitterness and whiskey notes. Easy to drink and enjoy.

I had it in a coupe rather than on the rocks but stirred it a little longer than usual to add a bit more dilution. Pleasant enough…

I used Somerset Apple Eau de Vie in lieu of Apricot Eau de Vie. No bitters but upped the Gin to 55ml and 25 Apple Brandy to slightly up the dry edge. The sweetness of the Bianco Vermouth works very well with the apple flavour. Ice cold it was nice on a warm spring tea time.

It’s a Chartreuse and Benedictine forward drink. I personally needed to tame them by adding a bit more whiskey and mezcal.
An appealing colour, nicely alcoholic but a tad disappointing

I like Ouzo so a ‘decent slug’ is fine by me :-)
I would either up the Ouzo and Whiskey or lower the vermouth.

A cocktail for whiskey lovers who want to drink from a martini glass!
I used Monkey Shoulder which retained its character with the Old Tom gin and dry vermouth

An interesting alternative to using Bitterman’s Mole Bitters and Agave spirits.

Pleasant.
It’s damned a little by faint praise. Easy to drink with the bitters moderating the sweetness. The Vodka base unfortunately doesn’t give it any true substance.

For me the lemon overpowers any potential nuance in the cocktail. I ended up adding 5ml more Green Chartreuse and 10ml more of both brandies.
I am interested to l try it with Yellow Chartreuse.

Intriguing. The Maraschino and Lime almost clash but get away with it. I used Burnt Faith English Brandy which is pretty robust (in a good way) and it ended up being a complex drink without either bitters or an amaro in sight!

This and a 5:3 Martini are a nice cocktail if you are having a sociable evening. Lots of botanicals with a gin backbone.

It’s not ground breaking but easy to throw together. I had to use a Speyside malt and ended up with a Manhattan ratio with 10ml of ginger liqueur (Giffards which isn’t that fiery).

The Licor 43 certainly tames the three Brandie’s and gives a warm vanilla flavour with a few botanicals thrown into the mix by the vermouth. Nice.

Fantastic! Instead of the suggested rum (an ongoing problem with many rum specific cocktails), I used Marks & Spencer’s own Dark Jamaican rum and found a 60-30ml, rum-vermouth ratio to be ideal. Rummy, a touch sweet and great orange notes.

If you want a Manhattan make a Manhattan…it’s easy.
This starts to complicate things with numerous elements so taking it out of a relaxed late night drink. It’s easy to drink (cherry and vanilla are perfect partners) but I cannot see myself making this instead of a Manhattan.

I used Maraska Green Walnut liqueur and ended up with a rich, coffee flavoured and very pleasant drink.

Hmm…It didn’t hit the heights others have mentioned. Somehow it needed a bit more punch. The Jägermeister just didn’t punch above its weight. A lightweight, or even bantamweight Negroni!

I used Burnt Faith English Brandy which worked well with the Ferro China Balvia (FCB). It was the best of the FCB cocktails I have made.

I prefer a Gin & It