Hot Butter Scotch

So this hot drink is not in the New York Bartender's guide. Hot Buttered Rum is, though and the recipe works better with scotch,  I think, than it does with rum. I picked Cutty Sark's Prohibition Edition scotch for its caramel flavor and because it is 100-proof. Any drink where the majority of the liquid is water needs a little help from higher proof spirits.

• 2 oz. scotch (Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition used)
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• cinnamon stick
• 1 pat butter
• fresh ground nutmeg
• hot water

Combine scotch and brown sugar in a hot drink mug. Add hot water and stir with cinnamon stick. Float butter on top and dust with nutmeg.

Colloden Cheer

This drink commemorates a famous battle in Scotland's history. It is a fairly tropical drink with sherry notes. It calls for a hard-to-find ingredient, La Grande Passion, which is no longer produced. I assume it is a cognac flavored with passion fruit. I tried to replicate La Grande Passion with passion fruit rum for the passion fruit flavor, mixed equal parts with cognac. I don't know how the original drink tasted, but this was a good move. I chose Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition for its caramel notes and how well it plays with rum and sherry.

• 1 oz. scotch
• 1/2 oz. La Grande Passion
• 1 oz. dry sherry
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

 Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Glasgow

Glasgow is the whisky capital of Scotland. Most blend recipes are maintained by master blenders working in the city. This is a soft cocktail that makes use of almond syrup or orgeat to make a sour drink more smooth. It makes for one of the best rocks sippers. For this recipe, I chose Cutty Sark's Prohibition Edition, which already has a caramel candy flavor to go with the almond.

• 2 oz. scotch
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. almond syrup

Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice.

Urquart Castle

Scotch drinks are sometimes best if there's not much in them except for the scotch. Urquart Castle will appeal to scotch drinkers, especially if you use a full-flavor scotch like Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition. It's made with peaty scotches and blended to produce a peppery nose with a caramel finish. A few dashes of bitters and vermouth and it's a balanced cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. scotch
• several dashes orange bitters
• several dashes dry vermouth
• several dashes cointreau

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass with fresh ice.