As we raise a toast to Robert Burns this January 25th, our friends at drinks retailer Bottle Club have compiled their most popular Scotch whisky cocktail recipes to celebrate Burns Night in style. Here’s what they picked out...
Whisky is often enjoyed neat or on the rocks, but cocktails aren’t just for Gin, Rum or Vodka. With a breadth of flavour combinations, and with Burns Night just around the corner, it’s time to make whisky the star of your cocktail bar. There are plenty of flavours to explore that will tickle your taste buds, even if whisky is not yet your go-to tipple.
Popular Scotch Whisky Cocktails
The Robert Burns Cocktail
It is a Scottish tradition to celebrate the poet Robert Burns' birthday on January 25th every year, and whether this drink was named for him or not, it is a fantastic choice for the evening's libation.
The Robert Burns is a classic cocktail that pays tribute to two of Scotland’s finest exports. The drink itself is a delightful, sophisticated mix that builds on the scotch-vermouth combination of a Rob Roy, but the addition of absinthe brings in an intriguing contrasting flavour. Be sure to keep the absinthe to a dash however as it can easily overpower the drink.
If Absinthe is a bit too much for your taste, there is a variation called the Bobby Burns which swaps the Absinthe for Bénédictine.
Ingredients:
60ml Scotch Whisky (Team 3D recommend Johnnie Walker Black Label)
25ml Sweet Vermouth
Dash Orange Bitters
Dash Absinthe
Method:
Add ingredients into a mixing glass with ice, then stir well and strain into a tumbler. Ice and orange twist optional.
Rusty Nail Cocktail
The Rusty Nail is the ultimate Scotch whisky cocktail. It's a very simple mix of Scotch and Drambuie served on the rocks. This is designed to be a sophisticated, slow-sipping drink, and it's excellent after dinner.
Feel free to choose either blended or single malts, exploring various brands and going as top-shelf as you wish. You may also want to adjust the ratio of the two spirits to fit your taste.
Ingredients:
45ml Scotch Whisky (Team 3D recommens this GoT Clynelish)
25ml Drambuie
Method:
Simply combine the liquids into a mixing glass and stir well before pouring over ice into a tumbler.
The Rob Roy
The Rob Roy cocktail was named after an operetta that narrated the story of a great Scottish folk hero who supported the poor. It’s a Scotch version of the classic Manhattan cocktail as the Rob Roy replaces bourbon or rye whisky with Scotch. The Rob Roy ingredients are also similar to that of a classic Old Fashioned, but the Rob Roy recipe uses sweet vermouth instead of sugar syrup for a richer flavour. It is best served by putting the cocktail glass in the freezer to ensure the Rob Roy stays cold as the drink is served without ice. Stirring a Rob Roy cocktail rather than shaking is critical in delicate cocktails with few ingredients, so not to over dilute the drink.
Ingredients:
60ml Scotch Whisky (Team 3D recommend Jura ‘Journey’ malt whisky)
25ml Sweet Vermouth
Dash Angostura Bitters
Cherry (Garnish)
Method:
Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice (minus the garnish) and stir well before straining into a cold Nick and Nora or Martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.
Hot Toddy
A good Hot Toddy has been said to jump-start mornings, cure colds and play furnace on a cold evening. Many people believe that its first use was as a medicinal aid, as alcohol was known to numb pain, while citrus and sugar (or honey) could soothe a sore throat.
This recipe comes from San Francisco bartender Jacques Bezuidenhout and features your choice of whisky, hot water, demerara sugar and a clove-studded lemon peel. Fortunately, the Hot Toddy is very easy to make.
Ingredients:
4 Cloves
1 Lemon Peel
2 Tsp Demerara Sugar
8ml Lemon Juice
60ml Whisky (Team 3D recommend Johnnie Walker Black Label)
Method:
Grab your favourite mug and heat it with some boiling water. After a minute or two, throw away the water and build your drink in the same mug by combining your spirit with sugar, lemon juice and peel, cloves and more hot water.
Ruby Queen Cocktail
The Ruby Queen recipe was developed by Rob Krueger of Extra Fancy in New York City and although it includes a couple of unusual ingredients, it is quite easy to mix up. You will need to prepare or acquire fresh beetroot juice and take a few minutes to make a fresh honey syrup.
It’s a pleasant surprise when you taste just how well Scotch works against this sweetened vegetable juice. The whisky adds a depth that vodka and gin cannot. It will rival any Bloody Mary you have ever had.
Ingredients:
45ml Scotch Whisky (Team 3D recommend The Dalmore 12 Year old)
30ml Fresh Red Beetroot Juice
25ml Honey Syrup
25ml Fresh Lemon Juice
Fresh Dill or Tarragon (Garnish)
Lemon Twist (Garnish)
Method:
Combine everything except the garnish into a shaker with ice, shake for 30 seconds, then strain and pour into all tall, high-ball style glass. pour and shake like any other drink and you will have a savoury drink that will rival any Bloody Mary.
Fancy checking out some other cocktail recipes? Here are our One Drink, Three Ways Gin and Rum recipes!