Whisky Cocktails

A spin on The Godfather using Canadian whisky: "Le Boss", made with Schenley Tradition (from Valleyfield, QC), and O'Dwyer Dartmouth, a craft amaretto from le Gaspesie...

Made my first Old Fashioned today. Had friends over and one of them likes to make them. He made me the first one I tasted a few weeks ago.

Tonight I used Raw sugar, Angostura bitters, and a 4:3 ratio of Old Ezra 8 year old CS bourbon and Alberta Premium CS rye (2021 edition). I really liked the massive ice cubes I made too. But it was hard to find a glass they would fit in.

Now that I have had 2, I can say they are dangerously drinkable.

@Nozinan - nice! Love those big ice cubes too - been making them for a while now and they're a must for any such cocktail or rocks drink.

Whisky Sidecar for me tonight. 2oz Penderyn Madeira finish, 1oz Cointreau, 3/4oz lemon juice shaken with ice for 20 seconds. A nice sour. Cheers all..

A riff on the Parisian Blonde, using Maker's Mark instead of rum, and Vegan Holiday Nog instead of proper egg nog (the recipe actually calls for heavy cream and simple syrup; I made it both ways last year and it was better with the egg nog).

Unfortunately, the vegan nog is too thin, and actually started to separate shortly after shaking...

Another take on the Eye of the Rye, the cocktail I made for New Year's Eve, but this time using North of 7's Single Barrel Rye instead of Canadian Club. I think this version is a bit more balanced and works a bit better.

Old Fashioned with CC 20, Demerara Syrup, and muddled maraschino cherries and blood orange, garnished with a slice of blood orange and an Amarena cherry.

Made a Mamie Taylor with "X by Glenmorangie" (photo isn't uploading for some reason). I tried the X on its own first, and wasn't terribly impressed. It completely disappeared in the cocktail.

Last night's cocktail: The Neutral Ground. Rye, Amontillado Sherry, and Benedictine.

Bobby Burns, using the penultimate serving my Cameronbridge Cask Strength Single Grain Scotch...

At last night's Celebrity Owned or Endorsed Whisky Tasting, it was determined that Drake's Virginia Black tasted like what Drake fans thought bourbon should taste like, and that it might do OK in cocktails...

So I give you the Toronto Old Fashioned, featuring things that sound they could be from Toronto but aren't: 2oz Drake's Virginia Black American Whiskey (not from Virginia or Toronto), 3 dashes Bittered Sling Kensington Aromatic Bitters (from Vernon, BC, not Toronto's Kensington Market), and 7.5mls of Demerara Syrup, garnished with a Blood Orange Twist.

Honestly, the whiskey is so sweet you could probably skip the simple syrup and just add the bitters and you'd be OK.

Today is my Friday (Good Friday is a work holiday). Sitting outside in this amazing Maryland weather having a Manhattan made with Bourbon (yes I like my Manhattan’s made with bourbon), Carpano Antica vermouth we and Fee brothers whiskey barrel aged aromatic bitters.

I have been wanting to try the Paper Plane cocktail for a while but was missing the Amaro Nonino. Just could not find it near me. Went to the store on Sunday and they had a shelf full. I like the cocktail. Refreshing and not too sweet. Will add this to the list of staple cocktails.

A Preakness, which is a Manhattan variant, made with bourbon instead of rye, as we were in Kentucky over the weekend.

Part 2 of the Daiquiri Experiment I started last summer...interestingly, the Dewar's Caribbean Smooth made a better tasting daiquiri than the Havana Club. The one made with the Asyla was definitely not a daiquiri, but it was a veey good lime-based whisky sour (which is something I'll have to experiment more with).

@YakLord Wow! A scotch based daiquiri! Would never have tried that, but I will now. Is this a classic daiquiri recipe? (1 part simple syrup, 2 parts lime juice, 4 parts rum (scotch in your case) Or is this a modified El Papa Doble? You also amp up the lime with lime bitters.

@YakLord I've always found HC 7 to be more suited to an Old Fashioned than to a daiquiri. HC 3 year does an admirable job in a daiquiri, especially if you include fresh grapefruit juice and Maraschino liqueur. Yum.

@OdysseusUnbound That gets you into Hemingway Daiquiri territory (which was Phase 1 of the experiment, the results of which where: Havana Club, Asyla, then the Dewar's, which didn't play well with the maraschino and grapefruit).

@TracerBullet There are so many different "classic" ratios out there. For purposes of the experiment I used the Original Daiquiri recipe from The Spruce Eats for all three: 1.5oz spirit, 0.75oz lime juice, 0.5oz sugar syrup (in this case, demerera syrup), and then added a dash of lime bitters (thespruceeats.com/classic-daiquiri-recipe-…).

@YakLord I've done the Hemingway "inspired" daiquiri (I keep some simple syrup in the recipe), and have found that I actually prefer a "dirty pour" into a tumbler rather than drinking it neat. Or at least it seems more refreshing that way in the summer time.

Tennessee Ginger Elderflower Sour...

Brooklyn, using Dillon's Rye 1 Cask Strength, but I mis-read the recipe and used a 1/2oz each of Averna Amaro and Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, instead of a 1/2 tsp of each. Still tastes good, though.

@YakLord That looks like the 2019 release of the Rye. Have you tried the 2020? Same cask and ABV but aged longer. I not opened mine yet. The 2021 release was a 500 cc bottle from cask 114, so a new cask. One of these days I need to do a H2H2H.

@Nozinan It is the 2019 release. Haven't tried the 2020, and passed on the 2021 as I'm trying to reduce / not expand what's in the accumulation in the basement.

@YakLord Me too, but that didn't stop me... Actually their 200 cc bottles were perfect size for me to try multiple batches, but then they switched to the 500 cc format, which does take up space.

Classic Daiquri made with Talisker 8 year-old Rum Cask Finished (2020 Special Release), mango syrup, and lime juice.

Kavi Old Fashioned...which is really just adding bitters to the Kavi because the Kavi has substantial amounts of sugar in it.

Rob Roy, with Dewar's Rum Cask Finished Blended Scotch...

Great Lakes Cocktail. The recipe calls for Revelstoke Whisky Liqueur, but I used vanilla bean infused Seagram's VO...

Black Walnut Old Fashioned with J.P. Wiser's 23 year-old Cask Strength Canadian Whisky (our anniversary whisky this year)...