Five great whisky cocktails to enjoy this summer
Nothing beats a beautifully mixed whisky cocktail to impress your friends before a summer supper. Alice Lascelles presents a sumptuous selection for Barley. Photography by Laura Edwards
Smoky Martini
50ml gin
10ml dry vermouth
2.5-5ml smoky whisky
Glass: cocktail
Garnish: orange twist
Method: Stir with ice and strain
A teaspoon of peaty whisky is all you need to give a Martini a savoury, smoky accent. I love this recipe with Lagavulin 16 year old which has a billowing, sweet smokiness reminiscent of Lapsang Souchong tea. But you needn’t stick to Islay peat – this recipe is also great with Mackmyra Svensk Rok, a Swedish single malt that’s kilned with local peat and incense-y juniper twigs (which picks up on the juniper in the gin rather nicely). The orange twist adds a bit of zesty, fragrant lift.
Fig Leaf Old Fashioned
50ml bourbon or rye
5ml sugar syrup
2 dashes orange bitters
1 hand-sized fig leaf, roughly torn
Glass: rocks
Garnish: baby fig leaf / fig slice / lemon or orange twist
Method: Combine the whiskey and the sugar syrup in a mixing glass, add the torn-up fig leaf and leave to infuse for half an hour. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass, add the bitters and stir as normal.
One summer evening I was working in my study when the scent of sun-warmed fig leaves came drifting in through the window. I sat there inhaling the fruity/leafy/coconutty perfume and wondered if it might work with whiskey. I went outside, picked some leaves and this was the result. This recipe is best made in August or September, when the leaves’ scent is at its most intense. My whiskey of choice for this one would be a well-rounded bourbon – Buffalo Trace or Woodford Reserve would do very nicely.
Angostura’s Aromatic Bitters is what you’ll see behind most bars. But if I was only allowed one variety of bitters, I’d actually go for orange bitters as they’re much more versatile: they work in all the whiskey drinks that call for classic Angostura, but also bring an extra lift to many white-spirit drinks: margaritas, daiquiris, punches, gimlets and martinis.
White Manhattan
50ml bourbon/rye whiskey
25ml white/bianco vermouth (NB not dry)
2 dashes orange bitters
Glass: cocktail glass
Garnish: grapefruit twist
Method: Stir with ice and strain
This pale gold twist on a Manhattan is made with bianco – rather than red – vermouth, a sweet style of vermouth with pretty vanilla and citrus accents. To counterbalance the sweetness, use a flavoursome whiskey – I love Michter’s Straight Rye for cocktails of all kinds. For a spicier rye hit, try WhistlePig Piggy Back, which is designed especially for mixing. Or how about one of the new wave of British ryes: the fruity, richly-spiced rye from East London Liquor Company looks very cool and is really versatile.
Southern Belle Punch
Serves 12
400ml bourbon or rye
150ml lemon juice
150ml sugar syrup
40ml Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
5ml Angostura Bitters400ml cold Earl Grey Tea
650ml chilled water
Method: Combine all the ingredients in a 3-litre punch bowl with lots of ice, garnish with lemon wheels and leave to chill for ten minutes before serving.
Cocktails are totally impractical if you’ve got more than about six people coming over – far better to make a punch. You can prep it in advance (indeed, punches generally taste better once they’ve sat around for a bit) and then leave everyone to help themselves. This recipe is based on a recipe by Max and Noel Venning of the brilliant Three Sheets bar in London. I served it one night when we had friends over for a jam and we ended up rocking late into the night. Don’t use your best bourbon for this one – something cheap and cheerful will do just fine. Wild Turkey is always great value, I think.
Japanese Whisky Highball
50ml Japanese whisky
100ml chilled soda water
Glass: highball
Garnish: see below
Method: Build over ice
The bars of Tokyo opened my eyes to how good (and how glamorous) a whisky soda can be. I watched bartenders re-invent my grandfather’s dusty old drink with five-star ceremony. A beautiful glass is essential – I love the rocks glasses by Richard Brendon (they cost a pretty penny but make even the humblest glass of water feel like an absolute treat). Beautiful ice also ups the ante – Ice Studio in London do home deliveries of spheres, cubes and blocks you can read a book through. For the whisky I’d go for Hibiki Harmony with a tangle of grapefruit, orange or lemon twists; or peaty Hakushu Distiller’s Reserve with a refreshing sprig of mint. If Japanese whisky is hard to come by (and my goodness isn’t it these days?) the organic single malt from Scottish new-wavers Nc’Nean also makes a highball that’s absolutely delicious.
Alice Lascelles writes about drinks for the Financial Times. Her book, The Cocktail Edit, is published by Quadrille.
All Photography © Laura Edwards
Now watch how to rustle up a luxurious Old Fashioned with Glenturret 20 Year Old….
