Scotch Whisky Fruit Cake
Theres a bit of a theme with Scottish food as its generally quite a stodgy yet delicious affair, and this traditional fruit cake is no exception.
Similar to a Christmas cake, Scottish fruit cake works nicely as a mid-afternoon snack with a cup of tea, and because it includes a healthy dose of whisky it should last a reasonable amount of time without preservatives.
This is one of my favourite cakes and it beats a boring sponge cake hands down. Just try it and youll see why.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
How to make it
What’s The Best Scotch For A Scotch And Soda
From blended to single malts, any Scotch whisky can be used in a Scotch and soda, and it’s a fantastic option when exploring new-to-you bottles. The beauty of this drink is that you can easily tailor it to fit the whisky you’re pouring at the moment. For instance, when you have a great single malt, add just a splash of premium soda, but for a casual happy hour, choose an affordable blended whisky and fill a tall glass with soda.
Is Scotch A Good First Drink
Ex-sherry casks are often used to age and perfect those flavors during the maturation process. This is why they use a spicy flavor in their drams. Beginners who are fond of scotch should drink this, even if I wouldnt recommend it as their first sip. You may want to try it after youve tried a few others.
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The Right Way To Build The Drink
Depending on whether youre making a Scotch & Soda or a Japanese-style Highball, there are different methods for building the perfect cocktail. For home bartenders, Luiz says that its best to put your Highball glass in the freezer for a few minutes while youre readying the cocktail ingredients. After the glass chills for a few minutes, add 1.75 ounces of scotch to the glass, add ice next , and then top it off with soda. Stir with a bar spoon to mix, and youre done.
With a Japanese Highball, you always stir the single malt with ice before adding soda water. First, add whisky to the Highball glass with cubed ice and stir to chill and dilute the spirit this also helps cool the glass. Then top with soda, stir again and serve.
Best Scotch Whisky Cocktails
Words by Simon Difford
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Before addressing what are the 20 best Scotch whisky cocktails, it’s perhaps worth addressing the reputation, both blends and single malts, have for not being cocktail friendly due to their peaty/smoky/salty character. This misconception has not been helped by the words of some of my heroes.
“Whisky…, “is a grouchy old bachelor that stubbornly insists on maintaining its own independence and is seldom to be found in a marrying mood. Its flavour refuses to be subdued. When combined with some other liquor the result will frequently be two distinct flavours, possibly antagonistic to one another, instead of a new and pleasing fragrance that is merely subtly suggestive of the two original essences”David A Embury , The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks
“it requires genius to make whiskey punch”Jerry Thomas, Bartenders Guide
“Really smoky Scotches, like the Islay malts, are the hardest of all the whiskies to find a home for in cocktails, though it’s not impossible… “American blended and straight whiskies are much more cocktail-friendly…”Dale Degroff, The Craft of the Cocktail
OK, let’s be honest vodka mixes with pretty much everything while Scotch is a tad choosier its bedfellows. However, find and exploit the flavours it combines well with and the results are sublime, as the following illustrates.
- 20 best Scotch whisky cocktails
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Toffee And Scotch Whisky Sauce
This is by far the easiest thing to make in this list, but its no less tasty for it. Its basically a toffee-flavour sauce with a bit of a whisky kick, and its perfect for adding to ice cream for an adults-only dessert.
I like to pour it over Christmas pudding instead of using cream on the 25th December but it also works well on clootie dumpling.
Ingredients
Chocolate Orange And Scotch Whisky Mousse
This is a spectacularly tasty dessert thats big on flavour as well as being big on calories, so I recommend making the portions fairly small. Its very rich but it still works with creamy toppings like the toffee/whisky sauce recipe described later in this article.
For a top tip I suggest you serve it with a fresh pot of after-dinner coffee which will help bring out the flavours of the dark chocolate.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Scotch whisky
How to make it
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What Soda Goes Good With Scotch
Clear, unsweetened sodas are preferred in a Scotch and soda. Club soda is the easiest choice, though plain soda water out of a soda maker is excellent as well. Sparkling water tends to be less carbonated but is a good option. That said, ginger ale is commonly paired with whiskey in highballs, lemon-lime sodas add a sweet citrus spin, and Scotch and cola is a popular drink throughout Europe. Try different Scotches and other styles of whiskeys with various sodas to find your personal favorites for different moods.
How To Drink Scotch According To A Scottish Bartender
Scotch can be a difficult drink for Americans to get into. Whether its due to hard-to-pronounce names, or the perception of Scotch as a serious drinking mans drink, theres an intimidation factor associated with Scotch whisky on this side of the Atlantic. But it doesnt have to be like this. Take Scotland for example, the birthplace of Scotch, where cocktails are served with a heavy dose of Scotch whisky. The liquid basically runs in streams through cocktail programs across Edinburgh. And the Scottish believe that Scotch is for everyone.
Theres no restrictions on getting into Scotch whisky, Jon Linstead, a bartender and bar manager in Edinburgh, Scotland, tells me.
His name is Jon, but his friends call him Jonny, and he comes off like a man who lives and breathes cocktail culture. Linsteads bartending attire is a comfortable short-sleeve button-up, black pants, and a black fedora. Tattoos cover his arms. On his left hand theres a wolf, and an angel rides an eagle on his upper left arm. Its his right arm thats most telling, though. On the underside of his arm stretching nearly from his elbow to his wrist is the Johnnie Walker Striding Man with the slogan Keep Walking beneath it.
drop!
So, without further ado, here are the four ways to drink Scotch according to a Scottish bartender.
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Best Grain Scotch: Compass Box Hedonism
Region: Scotland | ABV: 43% | Tasting Notes: Coconut, Caramel, Toffee, Vanilla
A century ago, many Scottish whiskies were made with grains, including corn and wheat, but declined in popularity as big producers started focusing on single malt whiskies. Maverick whisky maker John Glaser rehabilitated it, searching out old grain barrels and blending them together in making Compass Box Hedonism.
H. Joseph Ehrmann, owner of San Franciscos Elixir Saloon and co-founder of Fresh Victor, calls it a head-turner that can open your eyes to the pleasures of grain whisky. With its coconut and caramel notes, it tastes fun, says Tardie. Glasers doing a wonderful service for blended scotch.
Region: Highlands | ABV: 46% | Tasting Notes: Coffee, Espresso, Raisins, Cinnamon
did something innovative, says Tardie. They toasted the barley so much that they call it a chocolate malt.
Just as in beer making, where a chocolate malt adds mocha flavor to a porter or stout, this Highland scotch is rich in cocoa and espresso notes that only deepen over time. Its made from the distillerys oldest whisky35- to 40-year-old scotch, aged in American white oakwhich gives it a gravitas that Tardie appreciates. As you sip it, and as the alcohol burns off, he says, theres a strong characteristic of dark chocolate and coffee grinds.
How To Make A Scotch And Soda
There’s a right way to do this, and there’s a lazy way. Eyeballing doesn’t count.
The proper way to drink Scotch is with a splash of water to awaken the whisky’s flavor and smooth the bite of the alcohol. Or so they say in Scotland. But not all of us have the constitution for that. Thank god, then, that the highball is making a comeback. What, exactly, sets it apart from a plain old whisky soda? Good scotch, good soda, and attention to bubbles.
As Masahiro Urushido, head bartender at Katana Kitten, a Japanese-American bar in New York, told us last year, mixing a highball cocktail like a scotch and soda requires care. He makes them by filling a tall, narrow-mouthed glass with ice, adding the whisky, then holding the glass at an angle and slowly pouring in the soda. He doesn’t stir. He does garnish with a lemon twist. And he makes sure to chill his whisky, his soda, and his highball glass in the freezer before using them.
Pick the scotch of your choosingto each their own with something as varying as scotch flavorsand grab some little bottles of quality club soda, as those have the best fizz. Don’t get lazy with the glassware: That special highball glass goes a long way to preserving bubbles. Then, enjoy your simple, refined scotch and soda.
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Why You Should Be Using Single Malt Scotch In Your Cocktail
December 1, 2016 | Jake Emen
There was a time in the not-too-distant past when merely asking for an ice cube in your single malt scotch was enough to get you tarred, feathered, and run out of town. Thankfully, the perceived rules have loosened. Drinking scotch, or partaking in any of lifes finer pursuits, is today more about deriving pleasure however you darn well please than it is rigidly sticking with yesteryears mandates. Join the revolution, with a full range of single malt scotch cocktails offering new ways to highlight, showcase, and ultimately enjoy the wondrous world of single malts.
What Ingredients Are Needed For The Blood And Sand
- Cherry Brandy
- Scotch Whisky
The bright orange juice adds just the right amount of acid and citrus sweetness. The juice opens up the flavors and brings a hint of sunshine to one of the great scotch whiskey cocktails. Most recipes call for Cherry Heering or a cherry liqueur. We love to use the cherry infused brandy that results from making our brandied cherries.
Richly cherry flavored, the combination of sweet and tart and mulling spices used to spice up the cherries, the cherry brandy pulls all those warm spices in the scotch into the forefront. We liked our recipe with a bit more scotch than the traditional recipe which calls for even parts of all the ingredients. We hope you give this one a try!
- Rob Roy Liquor.com
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Scotch Cocktail Recipes To Show How Well The Spirit Works In Mixed Drinks
Scotch isn’t the most common spirit for cocktailswith a mix of peaty, smoky, and malty flavors, it can be tricky to pair with other ingredients. Add to that the high price tag of a good single malt and it’s no wonder that most people choose to drink their Scotch with nothing more than a little water. But with ingredients that complement the whisky’s peat, smoke, and herbal character, there’s no reason you can’t make delicious cocktails with it. We’ve rounded up 14 recipes to give you an introduction to Scotch cocktails, from a classic Rob Roy and a summery frozen Blood and Sand to a chai-infused punch.
Note: Scotch can get pricey quick, but for mixing you shouldn’t feel the need to reach for your best bottle. Check out our guide to affordable Scotch for some solid options.
Spiced Rum With Eggnog
While a lot of people love the taste of rum in everything, the combination of dairy and rum here is a bit overwhelming for some. If rum is your drink of choice, it will be fine for you, but if you’re looking for something that sneaks up on you, this is not your subtle mixer. This is really more of a “BAM!” kind of mixer.
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Why Cook With Scotch Whisky
Scotch whisky is enjoyed across the globe and has an association with Scotland unlike any other product anywhere else in the world.
Uisge Beatha is a distilled spirit made from fermented barley and water and not much else, yet its variations in flavour across each of the 126 licenced distilleries is nothing short of legendary.
Each whisky region of which there are five in total has its own unique characteristics, with some being light and sweet and others heavier and medicinal, and its this variation that makes whisky such a good ingredient to add to food.
Of course, youre free to use whichever whisky you like in the above list of recipes, but I personally think the lighter, sweeter flavours of Speyside work the best, especially if youre pouring them into a dessert.
That being said, part of the excitement of cooking with whisky comes from fusing distinct tastes into something thats better than their individual qualities would suggest.
Ill list the regions of Scotch whisky and their traditional flavours below, so go ahead and play around with the recipes as much as you like.
Oh, and if you want to learn all about Scotch whisky from its humble beginnings to how its made and where each style comes from, check out The Complete Guide to the Single Malt Whisky Regions of Scotland.
Speyside
- Number of distilleries: Over 60.
- Most famous Speyside whisky: Macallan, Dalwhinnie, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich.
- Typical flavours: Apple, vanilla, oak, malt, dried fruit.
Highlands
Best Peated: Talisker Distillers Edition
Region: Isla | ABV: 45.8% | Tasting Notes: Iodine, Earth, Smoke, Dried fruit
A classic Islay scotch subjected to a Highland treatment, i.e. secondary aging in Amoroso sherry butts, this bottle is, at first, big, peaty, and smoky, says Shanahan, but then, you start to see this wonderful new balance created. You get these fruit kickers coming through without being too cloying, but theyre added to the peaty notes of the scotch from the isles.
The sherry-cask fruitiness softens yet also highlights the peat, reminding you of the earthy elements in the scotch, he concludes. Dont be afraid to pair this one with food. Those heavily peated, oily, viscous scotches love seafood or meat, says Tardie. One of my favorite pairings is oysters and peated scotch.
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Its Called A Highball For A Reason
Unlike the Gin & Tonicwhich benefits from the use of alternative glasswarethe Scotch & Soda should only be made in a Highball glass. Structured similarly to a Champagne flute, a Highball allows the essence of the drink to travel upwards on the bubbles. All the flavors in the drink are trapped in the glass, and then when you sip it, you just get a flavor-bomb in your face, says Luiz.
Sakamoto agrees. A Highball glass allows the drinker to enjoy the aroma of the whiskyand the garnish, he says.
Usually holding about 10 ounces, the Highball glass allows for the perfect proportions of water to whisky to ice. If you can find a rocks glass that is 10 ounces, you can use it, Luiz allows.
The Perfect Measure Of Scotch
Depending on how much whisky is used at the base, the ratios in a Scotch& Soda can dramatically change the drinks flavor. Unlike traditional cocktails, which generally use a straight two ounces for the base, Highballs with Scotch whisky can vary anywhere between one and two ounces. For most American bartenders, the deciding factor behind the measurement is based on personal preference. For Carlos Ruiz, its a happy medium between the standard measure for cocktails and the traditional amount used in a Japanese Highball . Like many Japanese bartenders, Yoshi Sakamoto believes that the perfect ratio for the Scotch & Soda is based on tradition rather than experimentation. He always uses 1.5 ounces of whisky and four to five ounces of sodano matter what. He says that this measure of whisky not only releases more of the flavors inherent in the spirit, it makes a Highball thats smooth, light and refreshing.
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