Blame it on the chilly weather, but I’ve got Scotch whisky on the brain. Or liver.
Notoriously tough to use as an ingredient in cocktails, whisky is getting a lot more attention these days from mixologists. Maybe they see whisky’s can’t-play-nice-with-other-ingredients character as a challenge. Whatever the motivation, the results I’m seeing – and sipping – are often wonderful.
One whisky-based cocktail I recently fell in love with comes from Owen Westman of San Francisco’s famed Bourbon & Branch bar. It’s called the Laphroaig Project, after the super-peaty whisky it employs to such tasty results. It somehow manages to taste like a perfect beach-time cooler with complex wintry smokiness. In other words, the ideal winter Florida cocktail. Come to think of it, Tartan Beach might be a good name for this one.
Note: with the exception of Fee Peach Bitters, which you’ll likely need to buy online, these other ingredients are available at most decent liquor stores. You can get all them at Total Wines.
Laphroaig Project
1 ounce Green Chartreuse
1/2 ounce (the recipe calls for Laphroaig Quarter Cask, but I used 15-year-old Laphroaig, which worked just fine)
1/2 ounce Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 ounce Yellow Chartreuse
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Fee Peach Bitters
Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, fill with ice cubes and shake vigorously. Strain over rocks into a double old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
This article appears in Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2010.