Whisky Cocktails

Confession: I've never had a whisky cocktail and until recently never considered trying one.

But it's all the rage these days, so at some point I imagine I'll give it a shot. The real question is, what should my first one be? I figure I might as well start with one of the classics, so I'm thinking an Old Fashioned or a Manhattan. I'm leaning towards the former, if only because the ingredients used in an Old Fashioned leads me to believe it's the more likely to retain more of the whisky flavour, compared to a Manhattan with all that vermouth in the glass.

@Nelom Maybe the best Manhattans are like the best Martinis: the less Vermouth the better. Swirl a little Vermouth around the glass, dump it down the drain and carry on. Works for a Martini, might work for a Manhattan. My Dad used to say you only need to show the Vermouth bottle to the glass and put it back in the cupboard. I think he only ever bought one bottle of Vermouth.

I've only had old fashions and whisky sours. I prefer the old fashions because they taste more like whisky. So thats my first goal, to perfect making them then move on to making something else. Of course I could just do an Irish car bomb then call it a night...

@BlueNote You could well be right. Perhaps one day I'll find out, although I have to admit I don't feel a crushing sense of urgency to do so.

@casualtorture Sounds like maybe Old Fashioned is the way to go for me too, whenever I get around to ordering a cocktail that is. I don't tend to do a whole lot of drinking outside the house in the first place. Maybe when I go on vacation this fall.

Figured I should start posting my cocktails in a cocktail related thread... Whiskey Elderflower Sour with Bushmills Black Bush and St. Germain. Recipe from Diffords Guide, although I used an unpeated Irish whiskey instead of a peated Islay whisky. (diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2942/whisky-flower)

My usual whisky cocktails are the Old Fashioned, the Manhattan, the Boulevardier, the Penicillin and the Southern Baptist. Most of these have numerous variations and in fact the Southern Baptist is a whisky sour variation. I personally started out having my whisky straight up and shunned the cocktail until my brother in law introduced me to ’well made’ cocktails. All this is subjective so what one enjoys, the other may not but I find it amusing when people dismiss anything without trying it. That said, I have particular brands of scotch, rye and bourbon I will mix in cocktails. The really good stuff is for sipping neat.

@YakLord THAT, is a proper sour. Nice froth on the top. Used egg white?

@TracerBullet Thanks! Yes, used egg white. Messed up the seal doing the dry shake, so it wasn't as thick as it could have been, but still tasty. The St. Germain is sweet enough that you don't need simple syrup, and adds an interesting floral note, but it's still quite sour.

Last night's D&D Cocktail: a Port of New York, recipe from VinePair (vinepair.com/cocktail-recipe/the-port-of-new-york/), but using the last of my Game of Thrones Mortlach Six Kingdoms, which I guess makes it a King's Landing. Anyway, this does work better with a good Canadian whisky (I used Wiser's 18 year-old the first time I made this), or a high proof rye, than it does with a Single Malt.

Tonight's D&D Cocktail...not a whisky Cocktail, but I suppose could be done with whisky. It's a Clover Club, which is really just a raspberry gn sour... I have more of the raspberry syrup and pink lemon juice, could easily do it again with Compass Box Asyla... drinkinghobby.com/clover-club/

@YakLord

Also not a whisky cocktail, but something I've been working on as a special project. It's a fusion of a basil gimlet, a gin smash, and a gin & ginger...

Hemingway Daiquiri (thespruceeats.com/hemingway-daiquiri-recipe-760527), but made with Dewar's 8 year-old Caribbean Smooth Rum Cask Finish instead of rum. Not bad, but you can definitely tell it's a blended Scotch, even with the faint rum undertones.

One for me, and one for each of our neighbours. Feels appropriate given the heat and humidity and the sudden evening rain showers.

Question about Bitters in cocktails...

When it comes to many cocktails you often see reference to a specific nrand of bitters, either Peychaud's (Sazerac) or Angostura (Old Fashioned), but other times the recipes just say "Aromatic Bitters', which could be a) either or the aforementioned, or b) something else entirely, like Bittered Sling's Kensington Aromatic Bitters, or Dillon's, or any of the other companies that make 'Aromatic Bitters'.

Of these other Aromatic Bitters, which could substitute for Peychaud's or Angostura, what are your preferences, and why?

@YakLord I wish that I knew enough to have an opinion on this matter, but I do not. Maybe @bwmccoy has some insight here.

@YakLord I think it really depends on the cocktail and your personal preferences. I use Angostura in many cocktails but in my Manhattans (classic Manhattan), I like Fee Brothers Aromatic Bitters and if you can find them, their Whiskey Barrel-Aged bitters. I have not personally found a substitute for Peychaud's but I admit I have not really tried either.

One of the cocktails I am having tonight is the Blind Pilot. Bourbon, sweet vermouth and Galliano.

@YakLord Finally got around to reorganizing the bar. I have a ‘few’ bottles of bitters.

Hemingway Daiquiri, same recipe as before, but this time made with Compass Box Asyla.

Part 1 of my Daiquiri experiment has been completed. The Havana Club 7 year-old worked best, then the Asyla, then the Dewar's Rum Cask.

I had my first Old Fashioned today. I enjoyed it. Tasty, but you lose the nuances of the spirit.

I may have another sometime.

@Nozinan - what whiskey did you use?

@RianC My friend, who made it for me, used FEW bourbon. I have not tasted FEW before to my knowledge.

It was quite potent. He said the recipe calls for 5 TBSP of bourbon (at 46.5%). But I tghink his TBSBs were each about 10 cc. Still, almost equivalent to the entire of volume of whiski I consumed in September...

The Blackthorn Returns: Irish Whiskey, Bianco Sweet Vermouth, Absinthe, and a few dashes of bitters.

@YakLord How do you like Dillon's Absinth? I have not opened my bottle yet.

@Nozinan Not sure yet. I just opened it for this cocktail, and I haven't actually drunk the cocktail yet... It's part of the series I'm doing for The Haunted Walk, so I had an obligation to make it and to the photography, but I'm recovering from a bout of food poisoning from a week or so ago and my stomach isn't quite settled, so I'm still not supposed to be drinking, which means the cocktail got bottled for future consumption.

The Creole: 2 & 1/2 oz bourbon, 1 oz sweet vermouth, a tsp each of Benedictine and Maraschino Liqueur, and a dash each of Aromatic bitters and Mole bitters. This is the first bourbon-based Manhattan variant that I didn't think was too bourbon heavy and over-oaked.

@YakLord ah, Benedictine!

The Ballroom: 2oz Dewar's 12 year-old (I used the 18 year-old instead), 3/4oz Kahlua, 1 tsp chilled water, 2 dashes Chocolate or Mole Bitters. Stir with ice, strain into a chilled coupe glass, garnish with a cocktail cherry...strange but oddly appealing... original recipe is here: diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/4969/ballroom

The Prophet in Plain Clothes: 1oz Caol Ila 12yr, 1oz Fernet Branca, 1oz Sweet Vermouth, 1/2oz Amaro. The recipe calls for Laphroaig 10yr, but I really don't know how that would work, because the Caol Ila completely dominates this and buries the Fernet. Next time I think I may use 1/2oz Compass Box Asyla and a 1/2oz Caol Ila and see if that's a bit more balanced.