The Penicillin Cocktail, made by New York bartender Sam Ross, takes the dry, calming flavors of honey, lemon juice and fresh ginger and fortifies them with a strong dose of blended scotch whiskey. The drink is topped by a thin pour of headily aromatic Islay malt, which gives the drink an alluring scent. The Penicillin is one of many lasting legacies of New York’s legendary cocktail bar, Milk & Honey, where Ross created it.
INGREDIENTS:
GARNISH:
Lemon peel or candied ginger
DIRECTIONS:
Honey-Ginger syrup: Combine 1 cup of honey, 1 knob sliced ginger, and 1 cup water in a 2-qt. saucepan over high; boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes; chill overnight, then strain, discarding solids.
Combine blended scotch, lemon juice, and syrup in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a rocks glass with ice. Top with single malt scotch and your choice of garnish.
The Penicillin cocktail is itself a riff on a simple whiskey sour (although you’ll notice there’s no egg white to be found). You could easily turn this drink into a “mule” or “buck” by increasing the citrus juice and adding a pour of spicy ginger beer in place of the ginger syrup, then topping with the recommended Islay Scotch float. Other cocktails that combine scotch with an acid and some complex aromatics include:
