by Will on November 1, 2010
It has been a long week, nay, a long month. So the impetus for this post is more than welcome.
The Rusty Nail:
1 1/2 0z Scotch (feel free to eyeball it)
1/2 oz Drambuie (again, no need to dirty the measuring cup)
Serve on ice in a tumbler or old-fashioned glass
And it’s that simple!
This is a drink well suited to cold weather. It was invented by some big-shot bartender in the 40s or 50s and popularized by Hugh Hefner, which to my mind is not a very interesting story. More interesting is that the copy on the Drambuie bottle is a bunch of flim-flam. The Drambuie people would have you believe that the recipe was bestowed upon their family by Charles II when they gave him refuge from the New Model Army at the conclusion of the English Civil War. The story is full of holes: there is no evidence linking the recipe to Charles II, and title to the Drambuie company has changed hands a bunch of times — the current owners just happen to have the same family name as the original owners (the Scots make do with just a few). But in Scotland as in the West, when the facts contradict the legend, print the legend.
by Will on September 7, 2010
If I could only ever have one single cocktail, it would be the Rob Roy.
1 1/2 oz. Scotch
3/4 oz. sweet vermouth
2 generous shakes of Angostura bitters
Serve on the rocks in an old-fashioned glass
This drink is the Manhattan’s mellower cousin. It was invented shortly after Dewar’s Scotch whiskey started being distributed in the US to the general public. Before that it was only rye, bourbon, and maybe Canadian whiskey. Coincidentally, there was, around the same time, a successful Broadway production of Walter Scott’s novel, Rob Roy.
As with Bonnie and Clyde and Jesse James, the historical Rob Roy was a murderous, thieving scoundrel, about whom almost nothing good can be said. For reasons having to do with literary conventions, people like to romanticize the doings of violent thieves. In 80 years, Bernie Madoff and the Sniper of several years past will somehow probably be remembered as folk heros.
Above: Brigitte Bardot and Serge Gainsbourg sing “Bonny and Clyde”
You’ll notice that this drink has a taste reminiscent of coca-cola. I think that’s no coincidence. Angostura bitters were a popular product, and its not surprising the drug dealers who made Coke would want to ape their distinctive taste.
There’s a lot to be said about Angostura, actually, but I’ll save that for another time.
Some people say this is a fancy drink and calls for a high-end scotch. I think that’s totally crazy. If you have a really good scotch, drink it neat or with soda water, to really savor it! The Rob Roy tastes great with anything better than Ballentine’s. Caveat: avoid Cutty Sark, despite its cool label.
