I love scotch. I like to think this has to do with my Scottish ancestry. My senses thrill to the aroma of peaty bogs and highland breezes. When sipping a complex, peaty scotch, I feel fully and deeply alive.
But straight scotch is not for everyone. ("Tastes great, except for the smoke flavor", one friend said.) It can be a bit brash, especially if you're not in the habit of sipping hard liquor. Another friend requested suggestions for ways of drinking scotch so that the full flavor of the scotch would come through, without being too overwhelming.
This is sort of a tricky request, because scotch is notoriously hard to mix. Scotch is the one girl in the room who gets all the attention, dominating the conversation with its irrepressible smokiness. There are, however, a few scotch cocktails that beat the odds. Armed with a run-of-the-mill blended scotch, and also a gloriously smoky Islay single malt, I sat down to do a little research. Here, the results, in order from least to most hardcore.
1. Mamie Taylor
I know that "girly scotch cocktail" sounds like an oxymoron, but this combo of scotch, lime juice and ginger beer is about as girly as scotch cocktails come. I could totally see myself sipping one of these by the pool on a summer day.
Verdict: This is a delicious drink, and a great way to consume 2 oz of scotch while hardly realizing it.
Use: The cheap blended scotch.
2. The Blood & Sand
Named for a Rudolph Valentino movie, this mix of scotch, orange juice, sweet vermouth, and Cherry Heering is a real cocktail classic. Best drunk in your loveliest vintage stemware.
Verdict: I've had this drink at bars before, but I just made my first one at home. The smoky Islay definitely adds something, but I'm not sure this is a drink that really calls for smokiness. The Blood & Sand is not too sweet, perfectly balanced, and will taste just fine with a blended scotch.
Use: The cheap blended scotch.
3. The Godfather
Two parts scotch, one part amaretto. Surprisingly palatable.
Verdict: This is an interesting cocktail. When I mixed it with the less flavorful scotch, I found it be goshawfully sweet. The one made with the single malt was much better - the amaretto moderated the flavor of the scotch, without overpowering it.
Use: The smoky single malt, if you can stand to mix a single-malt scotch with amaretto.
4. Scotch Cocktail
The Scotch cocktail (made in the true cocktail style) is for you if you are almost there. You like the taste of scotch, but you can't quite warm to the burn of straight alcohol. Here's how you make a scotch cocktail: Add a sugar cube (or 1 tsp of sugar) to the bottom of a rocks glass. Anoint the cube with 2 dashes of angostura bitters and muddle until well smooshed. Add as many cubes of ice as you desire, cover with 2 oz of scotch, and stir enough to get all the ingredients acquainted.
Or try this version: Add 1 tsp oz of honey to the bottom of a rocks glass. To the honey add 1 tbsp of hot water and a generous dash of bitters. Stir until the honey is mixed. Add a few rocks and 2 oz of scotch and stir again.
Verdict: The bitters and sugar take off some of the edge but none of the smoke. Nancy like.
Use: The smoky single malt.
What do you think? Any cocktails that were unjustly left off the list? How do you drink your scotch?
Nancy Mitchell is an equal-opportunity scotch drinker. You can find more of her recipes on her blog, The Backyard Bartender.
(Image: Nancy Mitchell. Yes, my Christmas tree is still up. Don't judge. )
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Or choose one of the "sunnier" single malts from the Highland, Lowland, Speyside, or Campbeltown regions, and keep the Islay whisky for someone who already likes scotch. ;-)
What's an accessable scotch that I could order at a bar, if I did want to drink it neat?
i am not a scotch person. despite my scottish ancestry, i find that it just burns as it's going down (in a way that bourbon does not, for me at least). that being said, i recently tried glenmorangie signet and it was amazing. as it should be for $150/bottle. so...i would say that another way to ease into scotch is the really really nice stuff :)
Personal favorite is a Rusty Nail. Pack crushed ice into a highball glass. Poke a finger in middle of ice to make a deep well. Add Single Malt to almost fill. Pour Drambuie into well made by finger to displace scotch. Will look like a nail in the glass. Flavor a bit like the second version of a scotch cocktail.
The nice Irish man (RIP) who helped me learn about scotch whisky and Irish whiskey used the seasons as a metaphor when tasting new ones. Islay scotches would be considered winter (as you gather around a fire), and some Highland and Speyside offerings would be spring or summer.
@twnt1andcounting, a sunnier scotch that should be widely distributed is The Macallan 12 year old. Very little peat/smoke, but spicy, toffee, citrus, floral, and dried fruit flavors. A little searching will turn up images of something Macallan calls a spider diagram, which is a sort of tasting wheel for whisky.
Oban 14yo is considered by my local whisky bar's manager to be a "gateway" scotch to those who are just venturing into the world of peaty/smokey scotch.
The glass in the picture is lovely; where did you find it?
This is an intermediate level scotch cocktail - Vieux Carré. It's from New Orleans. It's a strong drink, but with very little "burn". In an old fashioned glass with ice, mix 1 oz rye whiskey, 1 oz Cognac, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 1/2 oz Benedictine and a dash Angostura bitters . Garnish with lemon twist or a cherry. Cheers
@ ljuarez...at the salvation army thrift store! thrift stores are a great source for vintage glassware.
I'm thinking scotch with a touch of Root, the Rootbeer like liqueur
, would be divine!
I like my scotch and whiskey straight. But I add honey and bitters, or honey and lemon juice, when I've got a nasty cough. I had no idea that was a classic "Scotch Cocktail." In my family it's known as The Hemingway Cure.
Oh--except The Hemingway Cure most emphatically does NOT include ice.
@LJUAREZ - I have the same glasses and got mine from ebay :)
A good introductory Scotch would be Dalwhinnie, it is a 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch.
@A good introductory Scotch would be Dalwhinnie, it is a 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch.
HA! Agreed! I was thinking a sweet Cardhu with honey and citrus!
I would honestly skip all the fluff... hear me out.
I have never been a hard liquor person- until I tried Redbreast.
Sure, it's not scotch, it's Irish Whiskey. But when that delicious liquid touches your tastebuds with its warm embrace you suddenly notice the hints of caramel and oak... flavors you never thought possible in a strong drink.
It's the one distillery that got me into Scotch and Irish Whiskeys- and now I can't turn back.
I once received a Godfather (my staple diet in bars at the time) that was incorrectly mixed with Frangelico Hazelnut liqueur instead of Amaretto and it was even better! I don't know if it has a name or not, so let's dub it the Godbrother, just to be on the safe side.
As a footnote, I find Laphroigh to be the best scotch for either of the two.
I don't think where you're from has anything to do with liking whisky. I love it but my Scottish boyfriend can't stand it. That said, we both agree on Mamie Taylors - our favourite pub makes something similar with a shot of vodka added. Delicious! I'll have to try some of these mixes out on him so I can justify buying nicer whisky.
Thanks Brubro! Making the nail in the middle sounds exciting because although delicious, the RN is rather plain looking.
We had the treat of attending Scotsman's Robert Burns Night party and sampling a number of scotches. This holiday is coming up Jan25th, if you want to get inspired.
I would agree that people who are learning to drink whiskey should start with the Irish stuff... its smoother and goes down with a lot less burn. When you can sip that comfortably, you can probably move on the true scotch, with the different intensities of flavor all that pettiness brings. Maybe try the scotch cocktail.
Try the rattlesnake!! it's my favorite cocktail
The Mamie Taylor sounds so delicious. I'm already in love with the Gin Buck and Moscow Mule...exchanging the gin/vodka for whiskey sounds like a great idea.
I've only had Scotch a few times. I tend to reach instead for Irish whiskey (Redbreast mmmm) at the liquor store.
I love the Blood & Sand. I make it at home using Dubonnet instead of regular sweet vermouth – I find it a bit more aromatic and less sweet-red-wine-gone-off.
CMCINNYC, the Hemingway Cure sounds wonderful. Just what you need when you feel all clogged and mopey with a cold.
I will move on to scotch one of these days.. for now, I am loving my whiskey and brandy. =)
How on Earth do you leave the Rob Roy cocktail off this list?
My personal favorite for a single malt is Isle of Jura.
My Mom use to love the "perfect" Rob Roy, Scotch with both dry and sweet vermouth, and I must say I liked it too-On occasion I do crave a nice Rusty Nail however.
You have caused my husband to burst into tears at the idea of anyone mixing anything into an Islay wisky.
These sound interesting, worth a try. But for now I'll stick with a few things I learned in Scotland while accompanying my dad there on his last trip home before he passed away. I've never been an alcohol drinker so this was a stretch for me. At his request we visited 3 distilleries, I was about 50 and he said it was about time I learned how. First, in Scotland there's no such thing as scotch. It's whiskey and in their minds Scottish whiskey is the only kind...sorry, my kind Irish friends. I do know yours is smooth. Second, whiskey in Scotland is never served with ice. EVER. It's always room temp. water and just a couple drops. Every household has its little collection of water pitchers for just this purpose. Third, if you set three different single malts (10 year old +) alongside each other and have a simple sample of each one you'll most likely find one that stands out. I have and it's a Glenmorangie something-or-other. Each distillery has their 'thing' that they do to out-compete the others. Glenmorangie has this cool little mineral spring uphill from the plant that supplies all their water. You can walk up to it, just this tiny pool really. It changed how I view whiskey for life. I've had whiskey samplings for friends and they agreed, they'd never knew there could be such interesting and contrasting flavors. Thank you, dad.
I like a good drink just as much as the next person but do we really need an article as inappropriately named as this one to try and convince people to drink more? :...ease you in..."? What in the world were you thinking? It sounds almost like a you are trying to convince someone into a sexual position that they find uncomfortable.
The idea of turning good single-malt scotch into a sweet cocktail nauseates me. Ewwwww...
@veslabeachgirl - In Scotland, it is whisky, not whiskey.
@quiltmaster - Yes, a single malt should be enjoyed on its own, with perhaps a bit of water to wake it up. Blended whisky should be used for a cocktail.
A few years ago I "taught myself" to drink scotch.
It started with Rusty Nails, and finally was able to develop a taste for it.
A few months later I learned that I shouldn't ever EVER get drunk from scotch.
I don't know why- Bourbon doesn't do this to me- but I turn into a very nasty person when I drink scotch. I say terrible things and turn into a verbal bully.
I'm sure this doesn't happen to many people- but it happens to me.
I finally developed a taste for scotch and now no longer allow myself to drink it.
Oh well.
<< It sounds almost like a you are trying to convince someone into a sexual position that they find uncomfortable. >>
paminparadise, out of 33 responders thus far, you are the only one to infer a sexual subtext from a discussion about scotch. Admittedly, drinking good spirits can be a sensual experience, but nothing in Ms. Mitchell's post suggests that "... ease you in" refers to anything other than acclimating the palate to good whiskey. What are YOU thinking?
I have served single malt scotch in a liquour glass with vanilla ice cream. Guests can either sip it or pour it on the ice cream. Either way, it's a great match.
@DEWEYDEFEATSTRUMAN96 Thanks for the spelling lesson, I bow to your correction. Now if only AT would let us go back and delete and start over. Yes, a few drops of room temperature water is what's required to release the flavors of a single malt whisky.
I am so grateful that friends mocked me into drinking scotch in our after-work drink sessions. I was the typical fresh-out-of-college idiot who didn't know how to drink anything in a glass besides sloe gin fizzes,Tom Collins and Kahlua/cream. Nothing wrong with the second two, in their place, but none of those are the drink to sip and swirl and talk and think with.
I don't remember when I went from grimacing as I sipped to actually liking Scotch. It didn't take long and I'm set for my "brown drink" forever.
In my fifties, I am amused when my younger colleagues are actually impressed when I order a Scotch rocks after work, when they all have a beer or the house wine. I can have one drink, make it last, top it up with dribbles of water and be happy and they don't seem to know how many is the right amount.
@veslabeachgirl - I hope my response didn't offend you. Any girl that drinks scotch is good people in my book. The one girl that ever drank scotch with me was the coolest girl I've known.
sadly, this bar is now closed and i've never been able to recreate the drink myself, but i once had a most delicious cocktail comprised of blended scotch, pomegranate juice and rosemary. if anyone has ever had or knows how to make a similar drink, please let me know!
@Tuxedo That "scotch nastiness" isn't just you, both my father and one of my uncles had that, too. My father truly was the kindest, sweetest, most generous person imaginable, but when he drank scotch, he became mean and critical. My mother would totally prevent him from drinking it if she could, since when he did it, he was so hard to be in the room with (and they romantically shared cocktail hour every night of their lives, a habit I believe all married couples ought to follow), but they compromised and he agreed to have his beloved scotch only when he wanted to celebrate some major accomplishment (he then certainly deserved to drink exactly what he wanted), which he got to do about once a month. But even then, my mother often had to send him out of the room,"You drink that somewhere else if you are going to act like that."
My uncle was even worse. He started out being dull and boring during the day, but then right before dinner, he would turn to scotch. For an hour, he was warm and funny and very, very likeable. But after that hour, watch out--from Dr. Jekyl to Mr. Hyde. Some of the things that came out of his mouth were straight from some demon. In his latter years, he'd start his day with scotch and got so he consumed at least a bottle a day. He bought scotch by the case. All his neighbors would close their curtains and turn off their lights when they'd see him approach for a visit--"sorry, we were out".
I, myself, can hardly stand scotch and for so long have figured that with so many other great liquors out there, why waste my time. However, when I look at my bar shelves, I see that I have an overwhelming amount of scotch on there (some of it very expensive), thanks to obtaining it all after both my father and my uncle died. I keep replenishing my bourbon, vodka, rum, and tequila, while all that scotch just continues to sit there. I feel based on economics alone that I ought to figure out how to drink it, thus I found this article. If none of these suggestions work, I think I will find somebody I know to trade with. Even then, I will keep on hand some of the single malts my uncle had; those, at least, excite some of my guests.