The biggest thing happening this month in the Whiskey drinking world is the St. Patrick’s Day on 17th March. As has been the tradition of liquid Irish culture, everyone goes green. Green beer, green whiskey, green underwear, green everything!
But let us break some rules this time and go for something red instead. (Red because… well, it is badass. And who doesn’t want to pretend to be a badass every now and again?)
The almost red drink in question is the Irish Derby Cocktail, which is as old as 1947. It was traditionally prepared using Bourbon as the base. But that recipe stopped being cool. People wanted something spicy, something slightly sweet, slightly citrusy. They wanted something Irish. So, they substituted Bourbon with Irish Whiskey to make the ever-delicious, multi-layered, flavourful Derby Cocktail.
Ingredients:
- Irish whiskey (read Jameson)
- Sweet vermouth like the Martini Rosso
- Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao (or Cointreau)
- Freshly squeezed lime juice
- Angostura bitters
How to:
- Add 45ml of the Irish whiskey in a cocktail shaker
- Follow it with 15ml of sweet vermouth
- 15ml curacao
- 15ml of the freshly squeezed lime juice
- Drop in 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
- Now fill the cocktail shaker with ice until well chilled (around 20 seconds should be enough)
- Strain into a cocktail glass
- Garnish with lime twist
Cheers to breaking the rules!
