The Cocktail Collection

December 15, 2020 – Ai Fiori is regarded as one of New York City’s top restaurants, with a Michelin star and a three-star rating from the New York Times. Head bartender Pete Stanton created this take on hot chocolate using the restaurant’s own Maker’s Mark Private Select bottling along with Borsci Amaro.

1.5 ounces of  Maker’s Mark Private Select
0.5 ounce of Borsci Amaro
0.25 ounce of vanilla syrup
3 ounces of half & half cream
3 ounces of 70% dark chocolate

Whisk & melt the chocolate with milk over medium heat in a medium saucepan. After all of the chocolate is melted and the milk begins to froth, remove the saucepan from heat and add all other ingredients. Pour into a warmed mug and top with whipped cream and grated chocolate.

November 19, 2020 – Whisky and chocolate make a great combination at room temperature, but this hot chocolate recipe provided by Aberfeldy allows the flavors of the cocoa to accentuate the complementary flavors in the whisky. This recipe is part of Aberfeldy’s Golden Hot Chocolate kit available online, but can be adjusted to work without the kit (assuming you have a source for edible gold glitter).

1.5 ounces of Aberfeldy 12 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
5 ounces of milk (or milk alternative)
3 tablespoons of Aberfeldy Golden Hot Chocolate Mix
Marshmallows
Edible gold glitter

Warm the milk (or milk alternative) in a small pot, then stir in 3 tablespoons of Aberfeldy Golden Hot Chocolate mix until dissolved. In a mug, carefully combine the hot chocolate and 1.5 ounces of Aberfeldy 12. Garnish with marshmallows and edible gold glitter.

October 23, 2020 – Just in time for “Old Fashioned Week” in November, Aberfeldy has shared this take on one of whisky’s classic cocktails. Of course, it uses Aberfeldy 12 instead of Bourbon, and there’s some honey in the recipe to bring out the sweetness in the whisky.

2 ounces of Aberfeldy 12 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
0.5 ounce of local honey syrup (one part honey and 1 part water)
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
2 dashes of orange bitters

Add the honey syrup, bitters and Aberfeldy 12 to a mixing glass, then add ice and stir for around 30 seconds to dilute. Pour into a rocks glass and add a block of ice, then garnish with an orange twist while expressing the oils over the drink.

October 23, 2020 – Aberfeldy has provided three Halloween-themed whisky cocktails to help you welcome the ghouls, goblins, and ghosts this year (socially distanced, of course).

The Ghoul Bowl

2 ounces of Aberfeldy 12 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
1 ounce of an Islay Scotch
1 ounce Ancho Reyes Liqueur
4 ounces of spiced apple cider
2 ounces of lemon juice
1 ounce of grenadine
3 cups of crushed ice
Ginger Beer (to fill)

Add all ingredients to a small punch bowl or scorpion bowl with crushed ice and lightly stir. Garnish with cinnamon sticks, a star of anise and an orange wheel.

Broken Spire

2 ounces of Aberfeldy 12 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
.75 ounce of Pinot Noir syrup
.75 ounce of lemon juice
A dash of Absinthe

Combine all ingredients and shake. Strain over a big ice cube and garnish with Filthy Cheery.

Vampires of Perthshire

2 ounces of Aberfeldy 12 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
.25 ounce of apple cider syrup
.25 ounce of Averna
2 dashes of orange bitters

Add all ingredients to a glass and stir. Express oil of an orange peel and discard.

October 23, 2020 – Chivas Regal provided these cold-weather cocktail recipes that feature the 13-year-old Manchester United Special Edition of Chivas Regal.

The Winter Rebel

2 ounces of  Chivas Regal 13 Year Old
.75 ounce of Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
.50 ounce of blood orange juice
2 dashes of Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters

Build in glass over a large rock of ice. Stir. Garnish with large orange peel studded with 6 to 8 cloves.

Chivas Regal Shandy

1.25 ounce of Chivas Regal 13 Year Old
.75 ounce of lemon juice
.75 ounce of ginger syrup
5 ounces of hard sparkling cider

Mix the Chivas 13, lemon juice and ginger syrup in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake, then strain and top with cider.  Serve on the rocks in a tumbler. Garnish with lemon wheels and apple slices.

August 12, 2020 – Aberfeldy provided this cocktail recipe to celebrate National Honey Bee Day on August 15, and suggests that you can make it with your choice of soft herbs such as basil, mint, thyme, tarragon, dill, marjoram or cilantro depending on your personal taste. 

2 ounces of  Aberfeldy 12

1.5 ounces of lemon juice (or about half of a lemon squeezed)

1 ounce of honey syrup (Make it with 100g of honey and 64g water, stir and leave to chill. Note: syrup will only last 3 days.)

4-6 leaves of a soft herb

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake vigorously and strain using a fine mesh strainer into a small rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with fresh herb of choice.

April 8, 2020 – The Macallan European brand ambassador, Nicola Riske, shared these cocktail recipes with us on our WhiskyCast Live webcast from her home base in Madrid. They’re takes on classic cocktails that can easily be prepared at home.

Reverse Rob Roy

2 ounces of sweet Vermouth
1 ounce of The Macallan Sherry Oak Cask 12 Years Old
2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Stir the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, then strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a cherry or a lemon twist.

A Ginger Sunset

1 ounce of The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old
1/2 ounce of Oloroso Sherry
Ginger Ale (4 to 6 ounces to preference)
Orange twist

Over ice, build into a highball glass and give a gentle stir. Twist an orange peel over the glass to release its oils, then drop it into the drink.

The Macallan Copa

1 ounce of The Macallan Double Cask 12 Year Old
1/2 ounce of Oloroso Sherry
Tonic (4 to 6 ounces to preference)
Lemon or orange wheel

Add all ingredients to a Copa filled with ice and garnish with the lemon or orange wheel.

June 17, 2019 – Robin Wolf of The Hatch Rotisserie & Bar in Paso Robles, California won the 2019 cocktail competition for Tales of the Cocktail with this recipe featuring Suntory’s Toki Japanese whisky with her own Jasmine Tea Syrup.

• 2 ounces of Suntory Toki Whisky
• 1/2 ounce of Jasmine Tea Syrup*
• Top with Q Club Soda

*Recipe for Jasmine Tea Syrup:
Mix equal parts cane sugar and hot jasmine tea (brew the tea strong). 1/2 cup dried jasmine to 4 cups water, steeped for 15 minutes and reheated to melt sugar (turning it into a 1:1 simple syrup).

• Pour 2 oz. Suntory Toki Whisky over ice in a highball glass
• Add Jasmine Tea Syrup and top with Q Club Soda
• Gently stir with bar spoon
• Express lemon rind over top and around edges of glass
• Garnish with fresh jasmine

August 3, 2018 – Here are a couple of cocktail recipes provided by High West that use their “Double Rye!” and American Prairie Bourbon whiskies:

Double Rye! Horse’s Neck

1½ ounces of Double Rye!
½ ounce of American Prairie Bourbon
¼ ounce of fresh ginger juice
¼ ounce of fresh lemon juice
2 ounces of Fever Tree Ginger Beer

Fill an Old Fashioned glass with ice chips. Pour all ingredients into the glass and stir, then garnish with a lemon twist.

American Prairie Bourbon Rollin’ Ridge
1½ ounces of American Prairie Bourbon
½ ounce of blackberry sage syrup
¾ ounce of fresh lime juice
¼ ounce of Cynar
Tonic water

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a Collins glass over ice and top with tonic water. Garnish with 2 lime wheels.

August 3, 2018 – The Whiskey Sour is one of those classic cocktails that every good bartender knows how to make without thinking, but the bar team at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa in Texas came up with this unique variation after a lot of thought (and experimentation) using locally-distilled .44 Ranger Creek Rye Whiskey.

1.25 ounces of  .44 Ranger Creek Rye Whiskey
0.5 ounce of agave
0.5 ounce of  lemon juice
1 ounce of a “light-bodied” red wine

Combine the rye whiskey, agave and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker and shake. Strain over ice with a bar spoon, then layer the wine on top. Garnish with a lemon twist.