Faithful Scotsman (Death & Co Recipe)

 

A stirred drink with pineapple and lemon juice? Even weirder is the toasted whole cumin syrup. But how does it taste? Amazing. And yes, it all works.

Death & Co. has taught me that a rich syrup cocktail with juice can be stirred and swerved on the rocks like an Old Fashioned or, in this case, something very similar to the Harlem Cocktail. 

Again the tropical Island cocktail works well with scotch. Roasted barley whiskies like scotch also go well with savory notes as well. I'm talking about the cumin syrup. To make this golden syrup, toast 1 tbsp. of whole cumin seeds in a saucepan for about three minutes before adding 1/2 cup of water and sugar. Cook until it reduces and the sugar is dessolved. Then strain through fine mesh or cheesecloth. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Compass Box Asyla Scotch (Speyburn 10 used)
  
• 1/4 oz. Massenez creme de peche (1/4 oz. Evan William's peach bourbon used)
• 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. cumin syrup 
• 1 pineapple leaf garnsih

Stir all ingredients, then strain into a double rocks glass over 1 large ice cube. Garnish with the pineapple leaf. 

Vejk Sling (Death & Co. Recipe)

Slings are popular, tasty and easy to make. They are some of the oldest cocktails in history, and yet they are not going away anytime soon. Basically, you need only a base spirit, some juice and soda, and a dash of a flavorful liqueur or a garnish usually helps distinguish one sling from another.

This Sling is mostly distinguished by scotch. It needs little else to make it interesting, however Dolin blanc and orange bitters send it in an appropriately fruity direction. Furthermore, a chamomile infusion in the Dolin blanc adds earthiness and apple-like notes

• 2 oz. Compass Box Asyla scotch (Spyburn 10-year-old used)
• 1 oz. chamomile-infused Dolin blanc vermouth
• 3/4 oz. simple syrup
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 dash Bittermen's orange bitters (Hella used)
• club soda
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except soda in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with soda and twist the lemon zest over the drink and drop it in. 

 

Scottish Dram

 

Pretty much any cocktail you make with Drambuie will be good--and it will taste Scottish. That is because Drambuie is a liqueur with teroir. It is made from aged scotch, heather honey and Scottish botanicals. It's pretty amazing stuff. From putting it in your coffee to a few drops in your cocktail, it has the potential to change your whole experience.

This cocktail is a take on the Rusty Nail, a common drink for scotch enthusiasts from way back before the single malt craze. Usually an inexpensive scotch is used to spread the Drambuie flavor around in a rocks glass full of ice. This time it is up, neat and dry, in a recipe almost as simple as the Rusty Nail.

• 2 oz. scotch (Speyburn 10-year-old used)
• 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth (Cocchi di Torino used)
• 1/4 oz. Drambuie
• 1 dash Pechaud's bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled coupe glass. 

Straw Dog (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

The Straw Dog is Death & Co.'s update on the Bloodhound, a blended gin Strawberry Daiquiri with vermouth. Granted, the Bloodhound is kind of an anomaly of the Disco Era of cocktails where fresh fruit was used, but other ingredients were strange and often poorly matched with them. The Straw Dog un-does a lot of the harms of its predecessor.

Death & Co. used Compass Box Asyla Scotch as their base for its round scotchyness. I'd do the same, except I found a nice single malt from Speyburn--10 years old, even! And this was a good move because Speyburn's softness translates like mild whiskey. You really notice the Dolin Blanc more than the scotch.

The other change I made was out of necessity. I don't have, nor can I make, hopped grapefruit bitters. My substitute was two dashes rhubarb-lemon bitters (because these will do the lifting job of the grapefruit), and one of celery bitters (because of their binding earthiness). 

• 1 strawberry
• 1 1/2 oz. Compass Box Asyla Scotch (Speyburn 10-year old used)
• 1 oz. Dolin blanc
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• 1 dash Bittermans hopped grapefruit bitters. (2 dashes rhubarb-lemon and 1 dash celery bitters used)
• 1/2 strawberry garnish
  

Gently muddle 1 strawberry in a shaker tin. Then add ice and the remaining ingredients except the half strawberry and shake. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with the strawberry half.