Get away the Laphroaig, the Talisker, the Ardbeg, the Massive Peat—any of the litany of Scotch whiskies redolent of peat and all its smoky, briny, brooding taste. However as a substitute of pouring out a solitary glass, contemplate its means so as to add dimension in small doses—from a mere sprint to a bar spoon.
“I’m an enormous fan of working with peated whiskey in cocktails,” says Chall Grey, proprietor of Little Jumbo in Asheville, North Carolina. Even a mere quarter-ounce of the smoky stuff can create “a complete totally different ambiance for a drink.”
The secret is to guarantee that folks know what they’re moving into, advises Grey. The flavour of peated whiskey might be polarizing for the unfamiliar, therefore prior to now, he has spotlighted drinks that lean on it underneath such menu headings as “Favors the Courageous—drinks for the intrepid & the daring.”
Most frequently, peated Scotch is floated on high of a drink, the place a small quantity has most fragrant affect, with the Penicillin being the best-known instance. One other widespread method is to pair peated Scotch with one other spirit, which helps reasonable the smoky affect with out burying it altogether. The most typical mixture is peated Scotch plus a mellow, unpeated whiskey, which could imply a blended Scotch, or an Irish or American counterpart. Much less continuously, peated Scotch is paired with spirits exterior the whiskey canon, as in Sasha Petraske’s tequila-based Si-Güey.
Peated Scotch additionally holds its personal properly in opposition to wealthy or candy components, resembling egg whites, syrups or liqueurs. Grey makes use of each in his tackle the Amaretto Bitter, The Wind-Up, which showcases each peated and unpeated whiskey alongside amaretto, orgeat and egg white. In Tommy Klus’ smoky Boulevardier riff, the French Connection, in the meantime, the spirit is balanced by candy vermouth and the gentian liqueur Avèze.
Merely lengthening a drink can even mellow smoky flavors. Bartender Shawn Chen’s Harvest Time, for instance, combines warmed cider with Scotch, Campari, ginger syrup and yuzu juice for a drink whose flavors mimic these of baked apple.
“Not many drinks can assist a peaty Scotch base by itself,” Grey explains. However determining the proper mixture, he sums up, “permits the bottom ingredient to shine and makes the Scotch extra accessible.”
