Not unpleasant, but a little boring made with Bacardi Gold. I might revisit it with a more flavorful rum.
Not given much to go on with preparing the smoldering star anise, I held a star anise pod with a pair of metal tongs in the flame of my gas stove for a few seconds until it was flaming nicely. Turning off the stove, it remained smoldering and gave off a lovely aroma. Dropped it with a satisfying hiss into the foam of the cocktail. Side effect of making this cocktail is that it now smells like I just burnt incense in my kitchen, but I can’t complain!
Also omitted the simple syrup, which makes it more pleasing for my palate
Not given much to go on with preparing the smoldering star anise, I held a star anise pod with a pair of metal tongs in the flame of my gas stove for a few seconds until it was flaming nicely. Turning off the stove, it remained smoldering and gave off a lovely aroma. Dropped it with a satisfying hiss into the foam of the cocktail. Side effect of making this cocktail is that it now smells like I just burnt incense in my kitchen, but I can’t complain!
Not given much to go on with preparing the smoldering star anise, I held a star anise pod with a pair of metal tongs in the flame of my gas stove for an few seconds until it was flaming nicely. Turning off the stove, it remained smoldering and gave off a lovely aroma. Dropped it with a satisfying hiss into the foam of the cocktail. Side effect of making this cocktail is that it now smells like I just burnt incense in my kitchen, but I can’t complain!
What a fantastic sour! I subbed French brandy for the Italian brandy. It truly has a unique, creamy mouthfeel and I look forward to tinkering with the recipe. Note that egg white/aqua faba probably can’t be replaced with cocktail foamer in this one, since you need a good emulsifier to incorporate the oil.
No need to be picky with the wine style on this one. I typically use Costco Kirkland Cabernet Sauvignon or Bota Box Shiraz and it’s fantastic.
I find the amount of foam that this product generates acceptable. It's not as much as an egg white or some high quality aqua faba, sure, but it's so easy to add a few drops. That said, I can pick up a distinct flavor from it- sweet, artificial: likely the propylene glycol. This comes through in most cocktails I've used it in, and I've found that it requires powerful flavors to sufficiently cover it up. It's alright in a New York Sour, but I wouldn't recommend it for anything more subtle.
Fantastically proportioned! I enjoyed it alongside some nice oily artichoke pasta. I have to admit, I think I like it more than my own similar “Giuseppe Martini.” If you enjoy this style of drink though, perhaps give it a look.
Accidentally used creme de cassis instead of grenadine (mine are both homemade and stored in identical glass bottles). It was still very tasty!
Made it a double and served it in a coupe. Excellent!
I agree with other commenters that it could do with less honey. After a couple sips I added another equivalent of grapefruit juice and I like that balance better, but still not amazing. Also probably doesn’t help that my mixing Scotch is Cutty Sark, which has all the assertiveness of a wet newspaper. I’ll withhold judgement until I try it with a more flavorful Scotch.
Just go ahead and make it a double. Thank me later.
Thank you!
Made with Benedictine instead of Drambuie. Yummm
Banana killed everything else. No pisco, no tang, no strega. Rename Golden Banana?
Hmm, I just remade it and I thought the flavors of each ingredient were quite balanced. If anything, I get more Strega than banana. Did you use Banane du Bresil? I can imagine an artificial banana liqueur being overpowering.
Simon, thanks for publishing my variation! It’s very cool to see it on here. I came across this page while searching for Strega cocktails and thought “oh that sounds good” not realizing at first that it was my recipe!
Hurricane Harvey
Light white rum, OP high ester aged pot still rum, Passion fruit syrup, Lime juice, Cream sherry
Mula Amarilla
Reposado tequila, Galliano liqueur, Lime juice, Ginger beer
Would Pernod plus some simple syrup be a suitable substitute for this in cocktails?
I used 1/4 oz triple sec instead of the 1/3 oz simple syrup, to make it more sidecar-like and a bit less sweet. I think it’s great with the hint of orange. I also used ruby port because I didn’t have tawny, which gives it a lovely deep red hue. Overall quite a tasty dessert drink.
Considering John’s review, I decided to up the lime by 7.5 mL and reduce the Heering by 5 mL. This resulted in what I’d consider to be a beautiful and exquisitely balanced drink!
Considering John’s review, I decided to up the lime by 15 mL and reduce the Heering by 5 mL. This resulted in what I’d consider to be a beautiful and exquisitely balanced drink!
Substituting honey syrup for the simple takes this to the next level!
Used 1 oz Plantation OFTD + 1/2 oz Bacardi Gold since the OFTD is 69%. Decided to sub orgeat in for the simple syrup and found that it complements the cherry beautifully.
Without triple sec, this just wasn’t giving me “Margarita.” I ended up stirring in 1/2 oz of orange curaçao (in keeping with the tiki theme), which rounded it out nicely. Then I realized that I just turned it into a tequila based Mai Tai! That said, I enjoyed it much more than a standard light rum Mai Tai.