The Whiskey Sour is all about flavor balance. The drink is very simple—just a spirit, some fresh lemon juice, sugar and water. Too much lemon is just plain harsh. Too much sugar is cloying. Somewhere in between is a simple, tasty refresher. Like the Old Fashioned, it provides a welcome break from the flavor complexities of more sophisticated cocktails. Continue reading “Dangerous Drinks: The Whiskey Sour”
I love it when forgotten ideas return, especially the ones I’ve shrugged off as “surely doomed,” and then they reappear as great stuff.
That’s how Scotch whisky got into my Saratoga cocktail. Continue reading “The Scotch Saratoga”
Scotch whisky has a very small repertoire when it comes to mixing cocktails; only a handful have achieved fame, and even fewer popularity—Blood and Sand, Rob Roy, Rusty Nail, perhaps the Mamie Taylor. There’s a reason for this, of course—malt, peat, and smoke are assertive flavors, and you have to favor them just to get into the game; even if you like Scotch, there is no guarantee that mixing it with other stuff will provide an acceptable result. Continue reading “Arnaud’s Special Cocktail”
Since I’m not much of a Scotch cocktail drinker, my recent addition of the Affinity to my short repertoire of Scotch whisky-based cocktails was sort of a surprise. In addition to giving me another option to do up for my Scotch-drinking friends, this one gives me an alternative when the smoked salmon is out for hors d’oeuvres. Properly made, it is a very pleasant drink. Continue reading “Affinity Cocktail”
One of the delights of the Smoky Martini Cocktail is its accommodating nature. There seems to be no canonical recipe, only a loose ingredients list: gin (or vodka), Scotch (or Irish, blended or single malt), dry vermouth (optional), lemon twist (optional). Here is flavor opportunity broad enough to satisfy the tastes of any Scotch drinker, and even those who do not consider themselves in the Scotch–drinking ranks.
