Yum! Even better as a flip!

Fantastic.
I added 1 oz of bourbon, .5 oz of Amaretto and went with .5 oz of straight maple.

I messed up and used straight maple syrup (any recommendations for how to achieve the recipe's recommended 1:1 specifications?). That being said, flavorful, super sweet, got all of the individual flavors. Definitely in the upper tier of cocktails I've made.

I think 1:1 syrup just means dilute it with an equal part of water. Makes it more easily pourable and measurable.

Curated to replace dead link with Wayback Machine archive link. Added bar, location, and approximate year it was created. Also changed type from unknown to authentic.

With respect to the question about using straight maple syrup, the only way to fix it after other ingredients have been added would be to add an equal volume of water (as the syrup) then go back and add all of the other ingredients (except maple syrup) a second time. [This would be doubling the recipe to two drinks of course.] As Craig said, the 1:1 dilution of a maple syrup (or honey) improves pouring/measuring. Even more importantly it improves mixing. Undiluted commercial heavy syrup or honey has a tendency to stick to the bottom of the mixing glass or shaker and never makes it into the cocktail. During prep the ice makes the syrup/honey even more viscous and the sugar solubility plummets. So the drink ends up short of sugar because a portion of the undiluted syrup/honey sticks to the wall of the mixing vessel and never makes it to the drink.

The negative to dilutions of syrups and honey is that the very high original sugar content keeps them shelf stable (mostly.) When diluted, they are more likely to go bad after a time, even in the refrigerator. Even undiluted maple syrup sometimes goes bad in a warm cabinet--a black growth can start on the top. From what I can see in bottles, a small amount of water evaporates during the warmer periods, then condenses on the walls during cooler cycles, but this water doesn't dissolve quickly into the thick syrup. The thin water layer with dissolved sugar allows bacteria to grow. I have been getting around this problem by adding a very small volume of 100 proof vodka. The small amount of alcohol is more volatile, concentrates in the vapor space and condenses with the water, preventing bacteria growth.

Just made this tonight after not having it for several years.  Maybe my palate has become more numb to fernet-y bitterness, but I thought the ratio of fernet to other ingredients could be upped to 1.5 or 2 to 1 part each of the creme de cacao and cream.  At least using our house fernet blend (3 parts Branca, 2 parts Letherbee & 1 part CH Dogma) and the uber-rich Tempus Fugit Creme de Cacao (which I thought kinda dominated in equal parts or even 1.5:1:1, but in a not unpleasant chocolate-ly way).

My god -- this drink turned 10 this month! I noticed a lot of people posting about it on Barnotes and claiming it their creation, but that time sig on that post pre-dates them by several years. Really, it was due to the Anvil publishing their 100 drinks list in 2009 and suggesting any spirit for the Alexander; they used Campari, so I turned to Fernet.

Plinio Sandalio once made me a Branca Menta Alexander while he was in residence at Anvil. It was pretty great stuff.  Zachary