Tag Archives: Scotch

My Favorite Things

Posted on July 9, 2010

What’s that old expression? “Liquor won is thrice as sweet as liquor bought.” Well, it was never more truer in this case. Despite my excessive profanity and mild retardation, the good people over at Bacardi saw fit to include me in their 60 Second Cocktail campaign, and I received a shiny new bottle of Dewar’s White Label yesterday! The whole thing benefits the USO, so you should take a minute and befriend them on Facebook, and maybe even donate a couple bucks.

Their menu book featured two cocktails using Dewar’s. The “Callaway Cocktail” and cleverly named “Dewars & Ginger.” The ginger ale and Scotch thing is a pretty safe bet… the Penicillin is a great drink, so I figured I’d make both and see how it played out.

Dewar’s & Ginger

2 oz. Blended Scotch

Ginger Beer

Orange Wedge

Combine in glass over ice. Garnish with orange wedge.

Since this is such a simple recipe, I wanted some really intense ginger flavors, so I used my home made batch of ginger syrup. It’s a really, really solid drink, and would probably be fine with any ginger beer you wanted to use.

The Callaway Cocktail

2 oz. Blended Scotch

1 oz. Lemon Juice

1 oz. Simple Syrup

Ginger Beer

Combine all ingredients (save the beer), shake and pour over ice. Top with ginger beer.

I got this Reed’s Ginger Beer at the market the other day… it was $6.50 for a four pack, which seemed aggressive at the time, and frankly still does. It’s a decent ginger beer, but not quite as hot and spicy as I like it. The Goya would have probably added a bit more to this drink, but shit rolls down hill, as they say.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Recipes, Scotch | 2 Comments

Laphroaig Rob Roy

Posted on April 14, 2010

If you’ve been watching “Great Cocktails” on Fine Living, then you’ve clearly got nothing happening at 4am on Sundays. Which is cool, I mean, that’s cool… I’m not saying anything one way or another. Just saying… There is an episode which I Hulu’d that has Gary Reagan making a “Laphroaig Rob Roy”, which is so up my alley it’s almost a wonder I haven’t been drinking them my entire life.

Laphroaig Rob Roy

2 oz. Laphroaig

1.5 oz. Sweet Vermouth

Peychaud’s

Stir, serve down. Twist a lemon peel over top.

I altered this recipe a bit… Reagan’s is 1:1 with 4 dashes Peychaud’s. He was using Cinzano, which I couldn’t get down with. So I ran some CA, and was pretty happy about it. But, I did want to taste the Frog a bit more, so I upped the proportion. As for the Peychaud’s, I couldn’t really taste it, so I’ll let you make the call on that one. It’s just nice to know somebody cares.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Recipes, Scotch, Sweet Vermouth | 1 Comment

Pete's Word

Posted on April 1, 2010

When I’m not drinking, or blogging about drinking, or taking pictures of drinks, I like to spend my time surfing the interweb for drink recipes, drink blogs and pictures of drinks. So yeah, I’m in a good place. I stumbled upon this lil’ mofo on the Death & Company website… It’s a great drink for a few reasons… first of all it’s got Laphroaig, green Chartreuse and Maraschino, which is just too fucking crazy for me not to make. Secondliest, this is a variation on the “Last Word” cocktail, which was invented during prohibition at the Detroit Athletic Club. So that’s pretty cool.

Taste the Stick

Pete’s Word

.75 oz. Laphroaig

.75 oz. Maraschino

.75 oz. Lime Juice

.75 oz. Chartreuse

Shake and serve up.

I know what you’re thinking, “holy shit, that’s a weird combination of intense flavors!?!” Well, you would be correct. However, the proportions are really important on this one… I fucked around and got some pretty bad results, but when I went back to the original proportions, it came out really balanced. It’s sweet, sour, smokey and herbaceous. What’s not to like?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Green Chartreuse, Recipes, Scotch | 2 Comments

The Old Boy: Laphroaig Flip

Posted on March 9, 2010

So, truth be told, I love me some peaty Scotch. I mean the smokey stuff – the balls. Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bowmore, Ardbeg – all the big shots from Islay. And while I haven’t posted too many recipes with the stuff, it’s primarily because I don’t use Scotch in very many cocktails. Actually, I pretty much just drink Scotch neat, out of rocks glass. Or a wine glass. Or any glass. Or no glass, with a straw, out of the bottle. But, there are a handful of cocktails out there that call for Scotch. And usually, they call for the shit. The deep stuff. I’m talking ball city. By which of course I mean extremely peaty Scotch. Try this little biscuit on for size:

The Old Boy

1.5 oz. Laphroaig Scotch Whisky (Lagavulin or Ardbeg would be fine too)

1 oz. Blended Raw Egg

.75 oz. Tawny Port

.75 oz. Simple Syrup

Combine in a shaker over large cubes, and give her hell for at least 30 seconds.

Again, if you’re the type of person that is concerned with Salmonella, it’s a worthy endeavor to wash your eggs in a water with just a dash of bleach, as it can live on the shell of the egg. Back in the day of JT, the eggs he was using were likely much smaller. When a recipe calls for the inclusion of a “whole egg”, I usually use about one ounce. I simply put the egg in a mug, break the yolk, whisk it briefly, and measure it out.

But you know, that’s how I roll.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Flips, Jerry Thomas, Laphroaig, Recipes, Scotch, Shaken | Leave a comment

Penicillin Cocktail Variation

Posted on March 7, 2010

As a great man once said, “Scotchy, scotch, scotch… I love scotch.” Simple and eloquent. You see, I also love me on some scotch. Sweet, sweet bastard that shit is mclish. There aren’t, however, too many great scotch cocktail recipes. Mainly because scotch is so intense and smokey and salty. And surprisingly not so much goes with smokey saltiness. Well fuck that noise, right in the ear. Here’s a great scotch cocktail, and I dare you to make it.

Penicillin Cocktail Variation

2 oz. Blended Scotch

.75 oz. Lemon Ginger Liqueur

.75 oz. Lemon Juice

1 tsp. Honey

.25 oz. Islay Single Malt (Laphroaig or Ardbeg)

Shake, serve up.

This was created by Sam Ross of M&H. His original recipe calls for a ginger honey syrup, which I was fresh out of. But, I did happen to have some home made ginger lemon liqueur, so I improvised. And you know what? It was fucking worth it.

Ahhh… I forgot to mention… I rinse the glass with the Laphroaig, making sure to cover the entire inside of the glass up to the rim, and then allowing it to pool on the bottom. I then pour the shaker contents down into the center, as to not disturb the rinse. The smokiness of the Laph is thustlymost maintained.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged milk & honey new york, Recipes, Scotch, scotch cocktail | 2 Comments

Blood and Sand Cocktail

Posted on March 5, 2010

As I mentioned the other day, I have been looking for more interesting, offbeat drinks to cover on this blog. Suddenly, the Blood and Sand came into my life – from several directions. Dr. J brought it up first… said he’d had it a few times, that it was complicated, and would like to see “my take” on the drink. And then, stumbling drunkenly across the interweb the other night, I landed on Spirits and Cocktails, and was surprised to find that Jamie had recently covered it. And that dude knows whats up. And also, I’ve been watching Blood and Sand on Starz. So… it’s like God wants me to drink this. Kinda.

Blood and Sand

.75 oz. Blended Scotch (White Horse)

.75 oz. Orange Juice (fresh squeezed, please)

.5 oz. Sweet Vermouth

.5 oz. Cherry Heering

.25 oz. Laphroaig

Shake over ice, serve down.

My first pass on this bad boy was a little rough. I went equal parts, and it was a mishmash of weirdness and awkward feelings. At least between me and my dog. Anyhangles, I cut back on the Heering – and the vermouth, since I’m using Carpano – and upped the whisky just a touch. It was on the fourth pass that I added a dash of “the Frog,” and let me tell you something you sweet-assed damned bastard, this shit is mcmazing. Do yourself a favor, and chill the glass first. It’ gets a lil’ syrupy when it’s warm.
[digg=http://digg.com/food_drink/Captain_McBoozy_s_Blood_Sand_Cocktail]

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Juice, Recipes, Scotch, Shaken | 1 Comment

Laphroaig: Man the Fuck Up.

Posted on March 4, 2010

Do me a favor… slow your fucking roll, and read that shit at the top of the bottle. I mean it, take three fucking seconds out of your day and read something once. One fucking time. For once in your fucking life. Okay? Just do it. See that? “By appointment to HRH the Prince of Wales.” The fucking Prince of Wales, bro. You’re telling me that dude doesn’t know how to party? He does, brohammer, he does… trust me. That guy parties in ways that make the real Prince look like a total D bag.

Drinking Laphroaig is like being hit in the mouth with a really, really salty branch, that has some moss on it, and is also on fire… in the best possible way. Laphroaig, from the island of Islay, Scotland, is Gaelic for “the Frog.” Okay, that’s not true. But you know what is true? Phillip K. Dick was a major fan of the stuff… from The Divine Invasion:

“I don’t want you to work too hard,” Linda Fox said. “I have a feeling you work too hard. I want you to relax and enjoy life. There’s so much to enjoy: good wine, friends.”

Herb said, “Laphroaig Scotch.”

In amazement, Linda Fox exclaimed, “Don’t tell me you know about Laphroaig Scotch? I thought I was the only person in the world who drinks Laphroaig!”

“It’s been made in the traditional copper stills for over two hundred and fifty years,” Herb Asher said. “It requires two distillations and the skill of an expert stillman.”

Yes; that’s what it says on the package.” She began to laugh. “You got that off the package, Herb.”

“Yeah,” he said

I probably couldn’t have said it better myself. Probably. New category added, in it’s honor.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Reviews, Scotch | 2 Comments