Simple and tasty! It’s pretty sweet, the bourbon and the cola combining for that, but the bitters gives it a little edge and some minimal depth. It’s also great for curing headaches, although that may be more the bourbon than the cola.

As per request, I recently embarked upon playing with the Rob Roy. This drink is very simple, pretty much the Manhattan of the scotch world. Now, I’ve made many a delightful Manhattan, and the proportions normally stay more or less the same. Unfortunately, with a Rob Roy, all such bets are off.

Let’s start out with the basic recipe:

Simple, no? Unfortunately, the cocktail, and especially the amount of sweet vermouth to use, varies highly depending on the scotch. I made the above with Johnny Walker Green and it about blew my socks off. Alas, not in a good way. The peat in the Walker absolutely drowned out the vermouth and I didn’t like the results at all. However, using Chivas Regal (12 year) makes a delightful drink that even Christy enjoys (she’s no fan of the brown alcohol).

While I think there’s a lot of room to play with the peatier scotches, this drink works very easily and very well with a more balanced scotch, which is perhaps why most folks tend to reach for a blend. I’m a big fan of Islay whisky, in fact it’s my preferred region of single malt, I love the peat and salt they often have, but if you’re making a Rob Roy out of one of those you might either want to scale back on the vermouth (basically just adding some accent) or really bump it up so it can compete.

The picture above isn’t one of mine, instead it’s from morgueFiles! Feel free to check out the original.

You might try trimming down the vermouths a bit if they’re coming across too strong. What I have is a cross between Dr. Cocktail’s and Drinkboy’s versions. Drinkboy cuts the vermouth to 1/4oz each and lightens up on the gin by a hair. I had a big orange, and enjoyed the proportions above. Orange is the first flavor that comes across, which is fun in a cocktail. The other ingredients come out shortly after and all in all it’s a very enjoyable and drinkable cocktail.

As you can see, it’s an exact recipe. The core of it is Pisco and ginger ale similar to a rum & coke. In fact, I’ve seen some recipes that stop right there, and that’s an enjoyable drink. If you’re feeling like you simply must measure things, 6:1 ale to Pisco seems about standard. The lemon juice and bitters make it more fun, but it’s a subtle change. This is a summery drink, which Christy also enjoys sampling.

What’s up with the .3 and .4oz measurements? I tend to make a Manhattan at 3:1 rye to sweet vermouth, but that’s too weak if you then add Benedictine. You could certainly just do 1/4 oz each of vermouth and Benedictine, but I liked it better with a hair more than that, and adding more vermouth than Benedictine. The end result is a very soft and sweeter Manhattan. It’s handy for those times when you want a Manhattan, but aren’t really looking forward to it standing up and socking you in the mouth for the first few sips. Of course, I think that’s part of a good Manhattan’s charm, but this is nice to have in the recipe book. Thanks, Kurt!

Yes, there’s a cherry there but I shook it instead of stirred the drink. This also dilutes it a hair more, in addition to making it colder quicker, which I think works well in this case.

DeGroff’s recipe:

Ok, the thoroughly bit is my addition, but it’s important. Do your hands hurt? If you pause do you see layers (plural) of ice on the shaker? Ok, you’re almost done. You need to destroy the egg, and in the process produce a foamy drink to float the bitters on.

I often enjoy DrinkBoy’s take on cocktails, and I actually made his first before trying DeGraff’s. DeGraff has a lot more simple syrup and bitters in it, which rounds out the drink and keeps the Pisco from being quite so vocal. I liked it better, and so did Christy, so that’s what is posted above. Finally, a tragic admission, I didn’t have fresh lemon juice which means I used that crap out of a plastic lemon and it’s blatantly obvious in the drink itself. Do yourself a favor and use fresh lemon juice.

The drink is fun, and the egg whites give it an enjoyable texture. The bitters form a nice, orange-brown color, and the bitters and Pisco end up giving it a different flavor up front than at the end. It certainly seems like a summer drink, which perhaps makes sense given its Peruvian (or Chilean, depending on who you ask) origins. I’d love to muck with it and a fresh lemon, although after making two I ended up using more fake lemon “juice” to play with the Combustible Edison mainly due to the fact that it’s fun to play with fire. That and I love me the Campari.

Variations at:
The Art of Drink
DrinkBoy
DC Drinks
and, of course, Wikipedia

Update: picture of the Pisco Sour (v.1)

Some people drink it with the gin warm, the thought of which always makes my skin crawl. Also, it’s common to prepare by coating the glass (sometimes shot glass) in bitters and dumping out the extra instead of adding it directly in. Just a little variation makes a noticeable difference, so it’s worth the delight of experimenting to find your optimal proportions.

The Pink Gin has a proud history. I’ve read various accounts, all of which seem to match Wikipedia’s note: “Pink gin is a typically English way of enjoying gin. It was made popular worldwide by members of the Royal Navy, where it rose to prominence because the Angostura bitters were a cure for seasickness.”

Incidentally, does anyone know of a good place to buy spirits in San Diego? BevMo is ok, but they’re sometimes too much of a chain to carry the really good stuff.

“For those who are still with me, let me give you my personal recipe, the fruit of long experimentation and guaranteed to produce perfect results. The day before your guests arrive, put all the ingredients – glasses, gin, and shaker – in the refrigerator. Use a thermometer to make sure the ice is about twenty degrees below zero (centigrade). Don’t take anything out until your friends arrive; then pour a few drops of Noilly Prat and half a demitasse spoon of Angostura bitters over the ice. Shake it, then pour it out, leaving only the ice, which retains a faint taste of both. Then pour straight gin over the ice, shake it again, and serve.”
- My Last Sign (1983)

Rob Roy
as made by Julian Gualdoni

• Two shots of Lagavulin 12 year
• One shot of sweet vermouth
• One shot of dry vermouth

Stir over ice with a few drops of angostura bitters.