Whisky cocktails
View all recipesWhisky is grain and wood: barley, corn or rye that spend years in barrel and come out carrying vanilla, caramel and spice. It is the spirit with the most presence behind the bar, which is why its cocktails are the most restrained of all.
One rule governs this section: anything made only of spirits gets stirred, never shaken. An Old Fashioned or a Manhattan want to be chilled and barely diluted, staying silky and clear. The Whisky Sour is the exception, because it carries citrus — and that one you shake like you mean it.
14 recipes
Whisky & Tonic
The misunderstood cousin of the Gin & Tonic. Built properly it is long, dry and surprisingly refreshing; built badly it is a glass of tonic that tastes of wood.
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Gold Rush
A Whiskey Sour with the sugar and the egg white taken out and honey put in. It was born in New York in 2001 and has earned its place: with three ingredients it tastes fuller than the original does with five.
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Hot Toddy
The grandmother’s remedy that turns out to be a decent cocktail. Hot, sweet and sour at once, with just enough whisky to show without burning.
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Irish Coffee
A warm embrace in a cup. Strong coffee, smooth whiskey, and slowly melting, floating cream. Invented at Foynes Airport, Ireland, in 1942.
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Manhattan
Older than the Martini and, for many, better. Rye whiskey and sweet vermouth in a ratio that forgives nothing: an after-dinner drink, meant to be sipped slowly.
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Mint Julep
Bourbon, mint and a mountain of crushed ice in a metal cup that frosts over. More ritual than recipe, and that is rather the point.
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New York Sour
The same old Whiskey Sour with a layer of red wine floating on top. It looks like a party trick and it is not: the wine brings tannin and fruit the original lacks, and every sip tastes different depending on how far the two have mixed.
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Old Fashioned
The cocktail that defined the word "cocktail": whiskey, sugar, bitters and nothing else. Pure elegance since the 19th century.
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Paper Plane
Four ingredients in the same measure and none of them wins. Sam Ross created it in 2008 by applying the Last Word logic to whiskey, and it has become one of the few modern classics everyone recognises.
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Penicillin
A modern "cold toddy" created in 2005. Comforting, medicinal and with a surprising smoky finish. The honey and ginger syrup is its soul.
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Rob Roy
Born in New York in 1894 and named after a Scottish outlaw. Swapping rye for Scotch sounds minor and turns the whole drink around.
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Sazerac
The official cocktail of New Orleans. Built in one glass and served in another, with the absinthe only passing through: you smell it, not drink it.
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Whisky Highball
In Japan they treat it with the seriousness of a classic, and rightly so: built properly it is the most refreshing long drink there is with a dark spirit.
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Whiskey Sour
The sour family at its most recognisable: spirit, citrus and sugar, crowned by a silky foam that changes the texture entirely.
View recipe →What to mix with whisky
Whisky is the most opinionated spirit on the shelf, and that inverts the logic: the job is not to give it character but to avoid flattening the character it has. The mixes that work are few and simple.
Water
A few drops, not a splashDropping the strength a couple of degrees opens aromas the alcohol was holding shut. It is not watering the whisky down: it is the first thing any taster does.
Soda water
1 part whisky to 3 parts sodaThe Japanese highball. The bubble stretches the drink without adding flavour, which is why it works even with whiskies that feel too intense neat.
Whisky Highball →Red vermouth
2 parts whisky to 1 part vermouthVermouth brings sweetness, spice and a gentle acidity. It is the classic whisky mix and nobody has bettered it in a century and a half.
Manhattan →Lemon and sugar
2 parts whisky, 1 lemon, 1 syrupThe acid cuts the barrel sweetness and the sugar softens the alcohol. It is the most versatile structure there is with whisky.
Whiskey Sour →Bitters and sugar
60 ml whisky, one sugar cube, two dashes of AngosturaBarely a mix at all: just enough to round the edges. If you like a whisky neat, this is its cocktail.
Old Fashioned →Tonic water
1 part whisky to 2 or 3 parts tonicLess known than the rest and more refreshing than it sounds. With bourbon it comes out sweet and round; with a peated Scotch the smoke takes over.
Whisky & Tonic →Hot water and honey
50 ml whisky, 15 honey, 15 lemon, 120 water at 70°CThe only hot mix on the list and the oldest. Heat does to the aromas what a few drops of cold water do, and turns the whisky into something you actually want in winter.
Hot Toddy →
What does not work:Cola with an expensive whisky wastes your money twice over: the sugar erases the barrel and the whisky contributes nothing a ten-euro bottle would not. And with a heavily peated Scotch, steer clear of sweet mixers: smoke and sugar together produce something almost nobody orders twice.
