I just made this for the first time in many months, and it really is good- the cucumber and St. Germain make for such a refreshing way to drink tequila (which I admittedly don't tend to gravitate towards, but tonight was Rick Bayless night....)

Used Clear Creek "Eau de Vie de Pomme" instead of Lairds. Absolutely amazing.

Loved the flavours, but will make with less maple syrup next time... a bit too sweet for me.

I think steph is spot on here. Nice flavors and complexity but a lot too sweet for me. I wonder how we could maintain the same amount of maple essence without so much sugar.

Oh, and I also used Clear Creek's Eau de Vie de Pomme - wonderful.

If you want more maple flavor without quite so much sweetness, try using a touch of something such as Frontier's Maple flavoring. You'll need to experiment to find out how much to use, but I think it would probably accomplish what you want. Even better, if you could get your hands on some Green Mountain Organic Maple Liqueur, I bet using 1/2 oz. of that in place of the maple syrup might do the trick.

Muddling a small amount (1/2 tsp) fenugreek seeds might enhance the maple flavor - it's in imitation maple syrup.

Thanks,

Zachary

A very nice fall drink! Also tried it with 1/4 maple syrup and 1/4 cinnamon syrup, and a couple dashes of whiskey barrel aged bitters-that seemed to moderate the sweetness a little, but kept things smooth.

I was waiting to try this until I had homemade orgeat (thanks Zachary!). Orgeat and Sherry- this combination is new to me, but they seem made for each other. I also tried this with a dash of Luxardo Maraschino, which is really good if you like that funky note.

A very tasty cocktail; sweet but not too sweet and slightly tart. All of the flavors blend together to make a cocktail that can easily become one's favorite. I did not include a dash of Luxardo Maraschino as suggested in a prior comment. I may be wrong, but I don't believe it can improve what is already a great drink. My fear is that the Luxardo might overwhelm the balance of flavors. But, keeping an open mind, I will try it. Who knows--maybe it can be fixed even though it's not broken!

sounded good, but too dry and boozy for me. I will keep trying these ingredients in different proportions

Tequila + Manzanilla Sherry + Floral Liqueur is a repeatedly good formula. This is delicious.

The St. Germain and Falernum combo is really delicious (used Velvet Falernum)

This is why we love Brother Cleve. If you haven't tried it, make yourself one

I've been looking for something to do with my Velvet Falernum, and this is it! What an incredibly well balanced drink. A perfect intro for those that think they don't like bourbon. I've already tricked a few friends into liking a bourbon with this one.

Is this alcoholic Falernum (i.e. Velvet) or non-alcoholic Falernum syrup? The reference link is dead as of 2018. Thanks!

This article says Fee's non-alcoholic, straight from the horse's mouth. I've made it with rum-based homemade falernum though and it was outstanding. 

Thanks Craig! I don't have homemade, so I will try it with syrup per the article you linked - Cheers.

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/matthucke/42073081892/in/dateposted-public/

Tasty! Good if you like your drink on the sweeter side, but not cloying.

My notes from: https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2010/03/ninth-ward.html

It was created with Bulleit Bourbon and Fee's Falernum syrup for Tales of the Cocktail 2008 in tribute to the hardest struck part of New Orleans three years prior during Hurricane Katrina. It was loosely based off of Boston's own Ward Eight: "I wanted to create a drink for the event that would have some sort of New Orleans and Boston connection... So my idea was to take the Ward Eight, the best-known drink created in Boston, and turn it into a tropical cocktail for New Orleans." The recipe from way back had no garnish.

Wow, this is good. I used cocchi instead of lillet since it was open. I bought a bottle of scotch so I could try this since I love maurin quina; I got black bottle, a cheapie blend as I wasn't sure I'd like smoky whiskey, but it turns out I'm a fan.

Thanks for the Cocchi suggestions - was out of Lillet and Cocchi and used Campari instead. Used Kilchoman Islay whiskey and drink was awesome - nice and smokey with great complexity!

I made this a few years ago with Cocchi Americano and a regrettable choice for the Scotch. Cocchi is a hammer here, overpowering the Maurin Quina--too sweet and too intense in its cinnamon/quinine. I remade this as 1:1:1 into a Nick & Nora rather than as a lowball. Lillet blanc is too bland for my taste in most cocktails, so I used Cap Corse Blanc Quinquina which has a more balanced white wine and quinine character--more flavorful than Lillet, but not like Cocchi. I used Cutty Sark Prohibition this time and it worked well, flavorful yet mellow/sophisticated. As I made it I would rate it near 4.5 out of 5.