DOTW: Bobby Burns
Editor’s note: Over the next couple of months, we’ll be delegating Drink of the Week duties to a few of our cocktailian friends from time to time, as our bar supplies and equipment are rather limited in our temporary space.
First behind the stick is our friend and neighbor Erik, a talented amateur mixologist who’s currently working his way through the Savoy Cocktail Book, trying each drink in alphabetical order! Today, though, he shares the results of last night’s Robert Burns-influenced experimentation.
I had an idea to drink a Scotch-related cocktail last night, in honor of Burns Night, and Audrey Saunders’ Dreamy Dorini Smoking Martini was the first that occurred to me.
I composed the elements — 2 ounces of decent vodka, a couple drops of Henri Bardouin pastis, and a half an ounce of Jon, Mark and Robbo’s “The Peaty One” Scotch — and stirred them together.
Nope.
I didn’t like it.
I just kept thinking, this would have been better with vermouth instead of vodka. And how do I get this Band-Aid taste out of my mouth?
Maybe Islay-style malts just aren’t my thing.
I hated to be boring and retro, but I stirred together a hard-to-beat classic cocktail that’s even more fitting to the occasion.
Bobby Burns
1-1/2 oz. Italian Vermouth (I used Carpano Antica)
1-1/2 oz. Scotch whisky (I used Compass Box Asyla)
2 dashes Benedictine
Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Comment by Anita
Aye, but did ye recite “Address to a Haggis” then?
Posted on 01.26.07 at 7:12AM
Comment by erik_flannestad
Well, we did recite the “Selkirk Grace”. “To a Haggis” is a bit long. And our Scottish accents are not very good.
BTW, the picture is of the Dreamy Dorini Smoking Martini, not the Bobby Burns.
Posted on 01.26.07 at 10:18AM
Comment by Anita
Ah, I was wondering why it looked so clear. A mesmerizing shot, in any case…
Posted on 01.26.07 at 10:26AM
Comment by Cameron
And I thought I was the only one who knew about Band-Aid taste. 🙂
Posted on 01.28.07 at 2:01PM
Comment by sc'eric
I discovered the Dreamy Dorini about 3 weeks ago. I’d just quit my job (to start a new one three days hence) and was feeling adventuresome. So, I went online looking for Vodka-Scotch drinks. When I stumbled upon the write-up, I knew immediately that the Dreamy Dorini Smoke Martini was it. The ingredient list said it all… but the actual experience was what really hooked me! Being in central-PA–and, technically, between jobs–I have to say my resources were a bit limited. But I made due with what I had and it turned out quite well:
~ 2.00 Bak’s Bison Grass Vodka
~ 0.50 Laphroaig Quarter-cask
~ 0.25 Absente pastis
I had a few vodkas in my fridge, but the article had quoted Audrey as choosing Pernod over other anisettes because of it’s slightly sweeter quality. Because I had only Absente, I chose a slightly sweeter vodka: Bak’s Bison Grass Zubrowka (infused with sweet-grass). I chose Laphroaig Quarter-cask because it was the only Islay malt in my cabinet, and–quite frankly–you can’t get the Laphroaig experience anywhere else! When you put them together, magic happens.
But I would urge anyone to avoid the lemon twist! (Orange, perhaps, would work, and that’s generally how I take my Laphroaig.) That hint of lemon is what, in my opinion, lends to “that Band-Aid taste” that Erik, Cameron and I know so well–which isn’t always such a bad thing, when dealing with Scotch… but is always a bad thing when trying to sell someone on a “martini”.
Posted on 09.13.07 at 10:47PM