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. 

Trembling Bell (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

My final St. Patrick's Day cocktail for the year looks a lot like the last one, a little like a cloudy sour. That's due to the honey syrup and chamomile-infused rye. Believe it or not, this is a stirred drink! There is no juice, and it did taste boozy, but overall it was super fruity. 

If I did anything a little unorthodox with this recipe, it was substituting peach flavored bourbon for creme de peche. There's nothing like that in Virginia, but I know that a creme de peche is sweet and will have a candy-like peach presence. Evan Williams peach bourbon has the right flavor (a little too much of it) but it needs the sugar from the honey syrup to balance. I did not change the protestations at all. 

For all the fuss of being Irish, this cocktail is mostly an infused rye drink. Again, I'm opting for the malt characteristics of Virginia Distilling Company's Brewer's Batch for this cocktail instead of any run of the mill blended Irish whiskey. It has the malt requirement to give heft to rye and honey.

• 1 1/2 oz. chamomile-infused Rittenhouse rye
• 1 oz. Knappogue Castle 12-Year Irish whiskey (Virginia Distilling Company Brewer's Batch used)
• 3/4 oz. Cocchi Americano (Dolin Blanc used)
• 1 tsp. Massenez creme de peche (Evan William's peach whiskey used)
• 1/2 tsp. honey syrup
• 1 lemon twist 

Combine all ingredients except twist in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled coupe. Twist lemon zest over the drink and discard.