Whisky Sour

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Over the summer I experimented with Scotch-based cocktails. Why? Because I could. Because I like whisky. Because it was hot outside today and I was bored and can’t find a movie to watch on Netflix or Apple TV.

The basic Whisky Sour is whisky, some sort of souring agent, a sweet syrup, bitters and optionally, an egg white. I found a basic recipe on scotchwhisky.com.

This is my second attempt at making a Whisky Sour. On my first attempt, I used the last of my 12 Year Macallan and lemon juice concentrate and skipped the egg white. It was good, but for my second try, I used freshly squeezed lemon juice and Macallan’s 12 Year Double Cask. The Double Cask is aged in American and European Sherry seasoned oak casks.

My son helped me separate the egg white. He’s not old enough to drink but he’s an excellent chef. He has the skill to separate the egg white. I do not.

I did not have a cocktail shaker, but since I am experimenting with making cocktails, it seemed appropriate to have one. I drove around town hoping to find a cocktail mixer but none of the local liquors stores nor the grocery store sells cocktail mixers. The manager at the ShopRite even commented that, with the exception of alcohol, the store sold everything else needed to make mixed drinks.

I gave the managers at both liquors stores an odd look after being told they didn’t carry any cocktail shakers. A look that basically said, “what fracking sort of liquor store is this”? I found one a few weeks later -- several in fact -- when I visited Gary's Wine & Marketplace in Hillsborough.

Here’s the recipe I used to make what I think is a delicious Whisky Sour.

Whisky Sour

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

My interpretation of a classic cocktail



Credit: http://104.236.229.226/

Ingredients

  • 50ml McCallan’s 12 Year Double Cask
  • 25ml fresh lemon juice
  • 15ml agave syrup
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 1 egg white (optional)
  • 1 dash of Tangerine bitters

Directions

  1. Add all ingredients to a shaker and shake without ice. The egg white creates thickness and a thin foam that adds to the look of the cocktail. Now add lots of cubed ice and shake hard for about 15 seconds. You can pretend you are in a Spanish band. Using a cocktail strainer and a tea strainer, strain the drink of all ice into a chilled martini glass.

Medicinal Spirits

The smell of scotch whisky used to make me throw up.

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What's one way to relax and prepare for the soreness of digging out from under 30 inches of snow? Why, a dram of Laphroaig of course. The scene was backlit so I used my Nikon SB600 for some fill light.

I started drinking scotch and whiskey only recently. For many years I avoided the drink because it would make me gag. This was something I developed after having a really bad experience in my youth. I got drunk after a girlfriend dumped me. A little too drunk. I had a little too much Johnny Walker. Ever since then the smell of scotch was just too much to handle.

It was my brother-in-law who turned things around for me. After I turned down an offer of scotch one night he asked me, "have you ever had a single malt scotch". Er ... no. "Try it", he said and handed me a dram of a Macallan ingle malt Scotch whisky. I reluctantly pulled the glass to my mouth fully expecting to hurl. To my surprise, I did not. I was cured!.

I tried Macallan 12, 15, 18, Glenlivet 15, Oban 14 and attended a few scotch tasting events and I thought to myself, "This is awesome!"

I wanted to try American Whiskey -- I learned there was a spelling difference -- and Bourbon. When in Rome.

I tried Woodford Reserve on the recommendation of a local bartender and sorta-kinda-like it. Then one day I discovered, The Whiskey Jug, and after several hours of education, I went on a hunt for Laphroaig 10 Year and Woodford reserve Double Oaked. My brother-in-law had warmed me to avoid peaty scotch. He said they weren't as smooth.

One sip of the Laphroaig and I knew he was wrong. This scotch has character. The Macallan, the Glenlivet, and the Oban were normal in comparison. The Laphroaig is never boring. It's the scotch that I could spend the weekend with. Slainte.