Hi there,

Thanks for posting this. I made it tonight and enjoyed it. However, I think that I will try it a second time and dial down the Fernet Branca to a 1/2 ounce and see what happens. Thanks again.

Just made twice, both times with Sazerac rye, first time with Fernet Branca, second with Fernet Vallet. First was really good, second was great. Not as minty or bitter as Branca, but it blended into the drink better without drowning out the other ingredients as much.

Tastes like an old leather boot soaked with Old Spice cologne which is awesome if you're into that kind of thing.

Very nice - a simple but delicious no-brainer! Anything that has aperol and grapefruit is a winner in my book. I used pink grapefruit, as the white is too sour in my book. Also used a grapefruit peel instead of orange twist because, why not? :)

Very nice - a simple but delicious no-brainer! Anything that has aperol and grapefruit is a winner in my book. I used pink grapefruit, as the white is too sour in my book. Also used a grapefruit peel instead of orange twist because, why not? :)

Try

A perfect cocktail for someone who loves a fruit foreword less dry red wine. I love finding sweet vermouth w/citrus cocktails because the combination of the two, equally tart bitter and sweet, is a unique flavor that is new to me. Another one similar to this is the Emerson cocktail which is 1.5oz gin 1oz sweet vermouth 1/3oz maraschino liqueur .5oz lime juice shaken, Up. I'll try the ratio of the Emerson from this site next time to compare and find out what I enjoy more.

I'm still somewhat surprised at how much I like this drink, which started out completely as a joke. I feel like the sharp apple notes of the Laird's bonded combined with the soft botanical gin forms a really nice base, which I would not have thought before I made this up. I've enjoyed these multiple times since and I find that a less dry (though not strictly dry) gin such as Malacca works better than the Old Tom because it dials back the sweetness just a bit. Also lime juice works just as well as the lemon. It's a fairly sweet drink, like the actual Sex On The Beach, but more complex and therefore more delicious.

I've always thought of Laird's Bonded as being the more whisky side of apple brandy, where Germain Robin is more of the fruit and sweetness and Calvados more of the theoretical ideal of an apple. You comment makes me want to try this, but I'd need the peach Brizard...

Thanks,

Zachary

Yum. Made this this evening with Malacca, Dolin, Mathilde peach, and lime. Very refreshing. I found it less sweet than Eric did, possibly because Mathilde isn't as sweet as Brizard (though I doubt it), and possibly because my limes today are a bit sharp and overly assertive. The Laird's was surprisingly subdued and the Malacca and grenadine came to dominate as the drink warmed.

I’m new to the home bartending scene, but this one is easily a 5+

Too sweet, would cut the orgeat by 1/4. ☆☆

Pretty good - used unaged spirits and split the tequila with mezcal for some smoke. I would reduce the orgeat some and/or up the citrus. Kept the egg white from the Conquistador that this riffs off of.

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I was caught by one user's comment that the Reverse Vesper is... "Tastier than the original though maybe too sweet. Worth trying with the gin and vodka proportions switched." I thought there must be a better, perhaps simpler way to make this drink less sweet, so here's what I did and the results.</p>
<p>
First, I made the drink using Citadelle Gin, but otherwise did not change the recipe, and found it somewhat sweet, but not overly so. Nevertheless, I used a grapefruit twist, making sure to express a fair amount of oil, and dropped in the twist. Definitely less sweet. Then I added dash of Fee Bros West Indies Orange Bitters. Even better, and I don't think anyone would complain about sweetness now. Nevertheless, I made another drink the same way, except I used one dash of Blood Orange bitters instead of West Indies bitters. I liked this even more. The changes to date: I used Citadelle Gin, a grapefruit twist, and 1-2 dashes of Blood Orange bitters. The result: a complex but smooth cocktail, that was not as sweet as before, with the amounts of vodka and gin unchanged.</p>
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Now I decided to change the gin brand but continue to use the grapefruit twist and the Blood Orange bitters, To date, I've been using Valentine Vodka (a topshelf, very smooth vodka). In place of the Citidelle gin, I tried both St. George Terroir Gin and The Botanist Gin (both are botanical gins). Using either gin, along with Valentine Vodka, Blood Orange bitters, and a grapefruit twist made for a very tasty drink, which did not have a "sweetness" to it. In short, if you find the above recipe too sweet, use a grapefruit twist in place of the orange peel. A lemon twist also works well. If available, use Blood Orange bitters (1-2 dashes), and use a botanical gin if you have one--or Tanqueray Ten or Tanqueray Bloomsbury gin.

A long discussion, but I hope some of the suggested changes to create a less sweet cocktail were helpful. Cheers.</p>