The Spirits #91: The Rob Roy
The Spirits #91: The Rob Roy
~ The Scotch Cocktail ~ The High Press ~ ‘Hmm, what was my day today?’ ~
~ THE ROB ROY ~
50ml Scotch
25ml Italian vermouth
Dash Angostura bitters
Freeze a cocktail glass. Fill a mixing vessel halway with ice, add the Scotch, vermouth and bitters, and stir awhile. Now, strain the liquid into you chilled glass. Orange zest or cherry garnish.
Some Rob Roy Notes:
1) The Rob Roy is nothing more than a Manhattan made with Scotch. It dates back to late-19th century NYC and has good claim, as David Wondrich writes, not to be a Scotch cocktail but the Scotch cocktail. The basic recipe, above, is perfectly nice but has always seemed to me an inferior Manhattan. However! There are improvements that can be made. For example:
2) Use Peychaud’s bitters instead of Angostura. Peychaud’s is the bright red bitters of New Orleans, essential in the Sazerac, Vieux Carré, Louisiane, and others - and its pronounced anise-clove-nutmeg note is a better match for Scotch than Angostura, I tend to find. You could also:
3) Add a scant dash of Islay single malt (Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Caol Ila, etc). The soggy-bonfire flavour of these intensely peated whiskies is a bit much if you use them as the base spirit - but, as with absinthe, a little grace note adds a distinct depth.
4) I used a maraschino cherry garnish, as you can see. However, I also spritzed a little lemon zest over the top - which freshened everything up. These three little touches took the drink to the heavens. So if you want that expressed formally, here is the ‘perfect’ Rob Roy:
50ml blended Scotch (Famous Grouse)
25ml Italian vermouth (Luxardo)
Dash Peychaud’s bitters
Dash Islay single malt (Aerolyte)
Stir, etc.
🖊️I am Richard Godwin.
🧋My instructions for sugar syrup, ice, grenadine, orgeat, etc are here.
🧑🏫 My 10 RULES FOR MAKING COCKTAILS are here.
⚗️ My bottle recommendations are here.
📃 The FULL UP-to-DATE A-Z recipe archive is here.
➡️ Please find a round up of organisations helping Ukrainians here.
And you like The Spirits, do please forward this to your friends.
A brief one I’m afraid. I have been dealing with a poorly toddler most of the week; he is now dealing with a poorly me. So the all-Scottish playlist, the World Cup musings, the Spirits Gift Guide, the clever little essay about End of Year Round-Ups will have to wait. I hope to make this up next week.
Still, I interviewed Sigourney Weaver the other day for You magazine, a real treat from start to finish, and I couldn’t resist sharing. I particularly enjoyed her recollections of her parents, Sylvester ‘Pat’ Weaver, who set up NBC, and her English mother Elizabeth Inglis, who had a cameo in The 39 Steps. They sounded so civilised, high-minded, eccentric, present; I remarked how difficult modern parents to pull off. She put it down to cocktails.
Well they did have that moment you know at the end of the day where they would pour a drink and take stock, sit back. You weren't on the hamster wheel all the time. Now, you go from your job, right into watching something. You don't have that rather civilised moment of sitting down and going ‘Hmm, what was my day today?’ They were less pushed in terms of time. They weren't trying to accomplish as many things. And I think maybe that made for a more peaceful life.
CABINET POSTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED:
🌿Green Chartreuse
🍒 Maraschino
🍑 Apricot Brandy
🍫 Crème de Cacao
🌷Cynar
🏝️ Falernum
🌵 Mezcal
🐂 Sherry
Crème de Cassis
SHOPPING LIST
Apple juice, sugar, apple cider vinegar and apple pie spices (whatever you have from cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, coriander, star anise, rosemary, etc). Whipping cream. And any brown booze you fancy: rum, Scotch, bourbon, brandy, apple brandy).
🍎