As we mark Burns night, our thoughts turn to whisky. The trouble with whisky in cocktails though is that it just doesn’t play nicely with other ingredients.
Which is a bit of a conundrum for our head mixologist because whisky is his favourite spirit. And yet we probably serve less whisky based cocktails than any other spirit.
It is the wrong colour (when mixed with many other coloured ingredients – it can come out sludge brown – which is hardly appetising is it?) Even compared with cognac, it has a huge range of flavour profiles from the standard blends such as Famous Grouse and Teachers through to the decidedly peaty Islay malts such as Ardbeg and Laphraoig.
But because we like the flavour we’ve persisted. And if you want whisky based cocktails we’d recommend the following;
Whisky Mac – which is admittedly hardly a cocktail. Just mix equal measures of your favourite blended scotch with green ginger wine. I slightly prefer Stones, but try Crabbies as an alternative. A little ice by all means, but a little stirring in the glass and that’s about it. No messing about.
Rusty Nail – A classic but simple cocktail. Absolutely bang on for winter too. A warming potion if ever there was one. There are variations in terms of quantities but we generally favour equal measures of scotch and Drambuie. Given that Drambuie is a liqueur, if that is a little too sweet, just up the whisky to Drambuie ratio. Again stirred with a little ice for dilution in an old-fashioned glass is the way to go.
If you find Scotch a bit too spirity, and you prefer your whiskies a bit sweeter like the corn dominated American bourbon and Canadian rye then these 2 are quite simply brilliant.
Whiskey Sour – is a classic for good reason. A double shot of your chosen bourbon mixed with a shot of lemon juice, a shot of simple (sugar) syrup and 3 dashes of angostura bitters produces a cocktail which is quite simply better than the sum of it’s parts.
Manhattan – our head mixologist’s favourite. Again another classic. Double shot of rye whisky (our everyday choice is Canadian Club rye) or by all means go for an American straight rye if you can find any, mixed with a shot of sweet vermouth and 3 dashes of angostura bitters. Again, simple but effective.
Then if you’re brave and want to try something new and different to what you’ll find in most other places go for the …….
Smoky PX Old fashioned – which is one of our favourite recent discoveries. Came across this at La Perla in Bath recently and it is stunning. Very full flavour – rich and sweet yet smoky. Our version of this features 2 shots of Pedro Ximinez sherry, combined with 1 shot Talisker storm malt whisky, 3 drops of angostura bitters and then topped with orange peel or orange oil. Stirred with ice this is again a lovely, modern, rich cocktail. Recommended
If you want to put together a cocktail menu which is a bit different either for a private party, or you might be a bar wanting to offer something other than the standard Mojitos, Cosmopolitans, Caipirinhas and the rest then give us a call on the dog and bone 01858 898154 or e-mail us info@cocktailshakerboys.co.uk
We work with clients both private and corporate across the Midlands ; Market Harborough, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Birmingham, Coventry, Daventry, Rugby, Lutterworth, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Northampton, Corby, Wellingborough, Kettering, Oakham, Uppingham, Melton Mowbray, Rutland, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth, Stratford on Avon, Warwick, as well as wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. Cheers!
Burns night cocktails