Scotch based cockatils

OK!!!! so you might be shouting out loud for petes sake that gentlemen dont drink cocktails !!!! whats more !!! ........how the bloody hell could one waste that precious dram of a 12 year balvenie & mix it with say lemon / ice / syrup......BLASPHEMY............................................................................i get the point gentlemen :)

BUT

My attitude toward cocktails based on scotch whisky can be neatly summarized: I like scotch whisky, and I like cocktails, but I (almost) never like scotch whisky-cocktails.....how can one kill the " holy grail " .....

Having said that, lets face it .......today's bartenders and adventurous drinkers are increasingly seeking out assertive and ambitious flavors such as those found in mezcal and Italian amari. More original scotch whisky-based cocktails are creeping into view.

I list below 3 such cocktails which i consider worthy mixing with my single malt

As i always say  ...ENJOY YOUR DRAM ..( albeit this time, a concoction :-)

Elixir No. 23

Ingredients:

• 45ml Ron Zacapa 23 rum
• 40ml balvenie doublewood 12 years
• 10ml Amaro Ramazotti (an Italian liqueur that’s sweet, bitter and spicy – it gives the drink a medicinal feel)
• 4 dashes homemade ‘Muddy Moonshine Stomach Bitters’

Method:

• Combine all ingredients in chilled mixing glass and chill and dilute with large ice cube.
• Drop orange twist into the glass.
• Strain drink into frozen miniature labeled bottles (after all, who doesn’t have these on hand?)
• No garnish needed.

It’s a strong, no-holds barred drink that kicks like a mule. I like it but, at the time I drank it at a friends place , I couldn’t imagine myself wanting to drink it again because it is so potent. Now that I’m writing about it, however, I’d die to have another one. It might be addictive.

The Royal March Flip

Ingredients:

• Half a fresh fig (or tbsp of homemade fig conserve if unavailable)
• 10ml lemon juice
• 40ml Talisker 10-year-old single malt Scotch whisky
• 30ml Ron Zacapa 23 rum mixed with honey
• 1 whole fresh quail’s egg

Method:

• Add ingredients, dry shake, then shake with ice. Serve up and garnish by spraying with an atomizer filled with ‘Ron Zacapa 23 rum Cinna-man Eau de parfum’. If you’re wondering what the hell this is, it’s basically the bastard child of cinnamon sticks macerated in rum that’s been put into an atomizer)

The result is a smooth drink that has a whisky backbone and a cinnamon aroma.

Foppish Flip

Ingredients:

• 40ml Johnnie Walker Gold Reserve Scotch whisky....( aaaah this hurts ...:)
• 20ml Laird’s bonded Apple Jack brandy
• Half a barspoon (2.5ml) of Branca Menta (this is an Italian liqueur with mint flavours (it’s a cousin of Fernet Branca)
• 15ml of maple & champagne reduction (it’s basically a syrup)
• 1 whole quail’s egg

Method:

• Add ingredients, dry shake, then shake with ice. Strain into a refined gentleman’s glass and garnish with a dusting of nutmeg and a spot of fanfare.

To be honest, there’s no way on earth I’m going to make a maple and champagne reduction at home – I’m far too lazy – which is a pity, since this is a great flip. On one hand it’s smooth and easy to drink (I’d be happy to have this as my every day pre-coffee morning drink.....( ask my wife madhuli about me & coffee.....or was it me & my laziness ...) and yet there’s a complexity in its flavour.

So there you go my gentlemen .........3 top scotch based cocktails !!!!!!!!!!