We’ve been asking Summerton Whisky Club members for their whisky and whiskey cocktail recommendations to create weekly guides to help other whisky drinkers on their journey.
Great to remember holidays, on hot days, when you want something different, to share with friends or even something to do with that whisky you’re not as keen on, there’s many reasons to have a cocktail, but which do you choose when you go for one?
In this weeks guide we ask Summerton Whisky Club members for their favourite whisky and whiskey cocktails; here’s what they recommended.
Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail
A favourite of so many and one that can be created in many ways.
Bobski says, “love an Old Fashioned, tend to be a bit of a stickler for tradition too so I’ll go for a rye or high-rye bourbon and muddle angostura bitters with brown sugar cubes. Served over a large ice cube with a twist of orange zest and maraschino cherry.”
Gary has a different take, “I love a peated old fashioned. I make it with Glenturret peated or Bunnahabhain Struiadair, Sainsbury’s orange bitters because they were so much cheaper than angostura, and maple syrup because it’s easier than sugar syrup – a couple of mils of each to 30ml of whisky. Stir with ice, serve over a large ice cube with a twist of orange peel.”
For those wanting to try something different, we were lucky enough to have Andy from Maltbox (https://maltboxwhisky.com/) create a Honeyed Rosemary Old Fashioned for the Summerton Virtual Whisky Festival last year, watch how he made it….
Whisky Sour Whisky Cocktail
Another favourite for many such as Simon, who is convinced his father makes the best version, and Chay who says, “Whisky sours are often the cocktail I go for, sometimes sub out the sugar syrup for cinnamon infused honey syrup,” and AG who states “apart from the occasional whisky Mac, it’s whisky sours all the way for me.”
Leejay likes a Whisky Sour and uses Andy from Maltbox’s, another shared at the Summerton Virtual Whisky Festival, which uses pineapple instead of egg…
Toby was a fan of the Bruks Jam Sour Kamil from Mackmyra created for last year’s Summerton Virtual Whisky Festival…
Whisky Macdonald (Whisky Mac)
As well as AG above, Sue always has “a bottle of green ginger wine in the house for an occasional whisky Mac.” It’s a simple recipe of just those two ingredients mixed in equal quantities with no ice.
Whisky Highball
Dan adds a highball into the mix, a massive part of Japanese drinking culture, where whisky and soda water are chilled in advance and combined in equal amounts with ice. He wrote, “I think they’re great on a hot summer day. One recipe I saw was for a soft sweet whisky with sparkling apple juice and a sprig of rosemary, it’s really refreshing.”
The Bloody Marianne Whiskey Cocktail
A combination of two of founder Dan’s favourite things, Bourbon and Bloody Mary, he has added this curveball to the list, which doesn’t have a set name yet, so here’s my push for Bloody Marianne.
“As with a Bloody Mary, whilst it can be nice to watch someone mix all the ingredients from scratch, I tend to cheat and buy a spiced tomato juice, to which you can add extra Tabasco to personal taste.”
For those wanting to make it from scratch, here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 6cl Bourbon Whiskey
- 12cl Tomato Juice (not from concentrate)
- 2cl freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
- 8 drops Hot Pepper Sauce
- 4 drops Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 pinches Cracked Black Pepper
- 1 pinch Celery Salt
- Ice
- Celery Stalk for garnish
- Pickled Cucumber for garnish (optional)
- Lemon Wedge for garnish (optional)
- 2 Pimento Stuffed Green Olives for garnish (optional)
Glass:
- Collins Glass
Method:
Pour all the ingredients over ice in your glass, stir to mix, add the garnish. If you like more of a kick, add more hot pepper sauce.
I’ll leave Amber with the final words, who really came up trumps, “I keep a notebook full of just whisky cocktails I come across that I enjoy. A couple of favourites: an Algonquin (double rye whisky, single dry vermouth, single pineapple juice), a godfather (equal measures of a scotch and amaretto liqueur), a Sneaky Pete (single rye whisky, single coffee liqueur, quadruple cream or milk) and a Penicillin (double scotch, single fresh lemon juice, single honey and stem ginger syrup, and a ‘float’ of Islay whisky on top).
My partner is Polish and as a result we seem to be cultivating pickles so we drink an interesting shot called a Pickleback, equal measure of any whisky, and the leftover juices from the jar. Does not sound pleasant but it works really well 🙂”