Scotch Cocktails

I have enjoyed this one recently, my own creation based on "Ginger Monkey" recipe from monkeyshoulder.com: Fill rocks glass (or tumbler) with ice, fill to 2/3 with dry ginger ale, add 40-50ml good blended scotch and either a dash of fresh orange juice / apple juice OR 10ml Cointreau. Garnish with a thin slice of orange. Very refreshing.

@Marcus Well, my go to cocktail is a Manhattan, preferably with Rye, but if instead of Bourbon/rye you use Scotch, it is called a Rob Roy.

Rob Roy recipe: 2 oz. Scotch whisky 1 oz. sweet (Italian) vermouth 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters garnish with a lemon peel

a slight twist on that-

Thistle Cocktail: 1.5 oz. Scotch whisky 1.5 oz. sweet (Italian) vermouth 2 dashes of Angostura bitters garnish with a lemon peel

My first work blog post suggested a couple - blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2011/05/… and MoM ran a series of cocktail posts this time last year - www.masterofmalt.com/Blog/ (you'll need to skip down to about halfway down the page)

Recently I've tried a few Laphroaig cocktails and redcurrants and ginger work rather well (although probably not at the same time). Unfortunately I've lost the piece of paper that I had the recipes written down on, but I think the gingery one was something like this:

Ginger Lavender Laphroaig Old Fashioned 2oz Laphroaig 1 dash Ginger syrup 1 dash lavender infused simple syrup (stick some lavender sticks into a bottle of simple syrup and leave for at least a few hours)

Mix the ingredients and stir slowly with ice.

I think it was lavender. I may have had a few drinks by then...

I am a big fan of rusty nails. It's not really a unique cocktail, but it's simple to make and has a complex taste in my opinion.

My hands-down favorite scotch cocktail is the Penicillin:

2 ounces blended scotch (Famous Grouse is my vote) 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice 3/4 ounce ginger-honey syrup (homemade, lots of recipes online. I like mine very ginger-y) 1/4 ounce Laphroaig Combine blended scotch, lemon juice and syrup in a shaker, fill with ice and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and float Islay scotch on top. & more re: the ginger syrup: at Milk & Honey and Little Branch this is made by juicing ginger and mixing the ginger juice with sugar into a 1:1 simple syrup. As you may imagine, this has quite a bit of bite to it. The honey syrup is added to taste.

Recently, at Rickhouse in SF, Russell made me a "Bad Santa" cocktail. Bad Santa cocktail delivers decidedly the wrong results online, and all I know is that the drink featured: Highland Park 12yr, Punt e Mes, Nocino, bitters, grenadine. The grenadine was housemade and very unlike the supermarket varieties. Really an exceptional drink.

A local Seattle bar is doing an interesting riff on a bourbon drink that they've dubbed "To Hell With Spain:"

2 oz. blended scotch (recommend smoke-laden Johnny Walker Double Black, or peat-enhanced Black Grouse) 1/2 oz. Carpano Antica vermouth 1/4 oz. Laphroaig 10-year-old 1/4 oz. Cherry Heering 3 dashes absinthe (Pacifique – yesss…) Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir well until chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass; garnish with a cherry.

Some really interesting ideas to poke through in this Eater:NY link: ny.eater.com/archives/2011/11/scotch.php.

@michaelschout If you like Rusty Nails, try a "Brogue:"

1 1/2 ounces Highland Park 12 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 1/2 ounce Drambuie 3/4 ounce lemon juice 1/2 ounce honey-infused lavender syrup Dried lavender

There are a few "classic" Scotch cocktails that come to mind as well, as ought to be easy to find online:

Atholl Brose Bobby Burns Rob Roy Blood and Sand

The Bourbon & Branch/Rickhouse people in San Fran created a well known cocktail:

@joshk, The Laphroaig Project looks fantastic! Actually, you had me at Green Chartreuse. I haven't seen Fee Peach Bitters.

Thanks to everyone so far for the cocktail recipes!! Definitely going to try some of them.

I tried that Laphroaig project! Tasty! @joshk

@evarees Laphroaig Project is definitely a tasting drink. I bought all the ingredients to make it at home. I've probably had it about 10 times and got some friends hooked.

@Victor I think you can get away with using any light/fruity bitter as the "peach" flavor is drowned out by the lemon citrus and smoke. Careful as green chartreuse is overproof so the drink has more alcohol then one would initially think.

I think Laphroaig would overpower anything - I am intrigued.

I have cocktail recipe I've developed and would like to share. I call it a "Rob Roy Dorchados" (Dorchados is Galic for darkness). I kinda got the idea from a "Black Manhattan" which is basically a Manhattan, minus the sweet vermouth, sub amaro. Another name I have used is a "Willamo Wallacone" * pronounced Wallace-o-nay. (my version of William Wallace - italianized)

It gets 2.25oz Famous Grouse, .5oz amaro, .25oz Luxardo Maraschino, .25oz Laphroaig 10, dash of bitters and a big fat orange zest.

Use a (potato) peeler for the orange zest. Try to get it a little smaller than the size of a business card. When you squeeze it over the drink, you should see and hear the oil spray into the drink, it will look like a little oil slick on top, then wipe the inside rim of the glass with the orange peel before you drop it in. Another way to do this, for slight burnt orange taste, is to use a knife to cut the orange peel a little thicker (like a little disc), and squeeze the orange peel over a lighter, into the glass. The oily spray will catch on fire before landing in the drink. This gives the drink a sort of torched orange flavor and looks pretty cool too.

For the amaro, I recommend Ramazotti or Averna (or whatever amaro you like). However, I would not recommend Amaro Montenegro, as this one is very herbaceous. I think it would take away from the scotch and other flavors. To me, Ramazotti tastes kinda like Coke without the carbonation and Averna tastes a little more bitter / less sweet. Another good one is Amaro di Angostura, also on the bitter side. Depending on which amaro you use, you can always use less or more of the bitters.

I love this drink. It's great with a cigar (in the jacuzzi). It is tried and tested. I have tried other liquor combos in this, like Black Grouse instead of Famous Grouse plus Laphroaig, but I think it costs more and you can't adjust the peatyness. I have also tried other Islay substitutes. Caol Ila 12 is awesome in this, but does cost significantly more than Laphroaig 10. It's just a matter of taste I guess in the end.