Flowers have something naturally beautiful and alluring to them -they never fail to draw all eyes and impress. A few well-chosen blossoms or micro herbs turn a visually unexciting drink into something truly exceptional. Or you go all the way with the flower garnish for your cocktails and create a real piece of art.

However, as with every other cocktail ingredient, it is vital that you use edible flowers. Not all flowers are palatable and qualify as floral garnishes.

Read on to find out how you can use flowers as a garnish, which ones are a good choice, and what cocktails are a good match for floral garnish.

Why use edible flowers as cocktail garnish? 

Some find it a little too playful. I think edible flowers are fantastic. They offer so many different options and possibilities.

But besides improving your drink's visual appearance, they can bring in more complexity. Edible flowers can add color, texture, and spice. Plus, some are quite fragrant. From very sweet and floral to spicy and savory, it's all there.

So it is not just about the pretty looks. It also can improve the drinking experience. -Keep that in mind when deciding on edible flowers for drinks.

Ways to use flowers as cocktail garnish

I said it before: there are endless possibilities to use edible flowers as a garnish for your cocktail. You can use them in fresh, dried, or also candied form.

The easiest way

The most obvious and straightforward option is to let a blossom or two float on your drink or put some beside the cocktail glass.

Dried flowers as garnish

Another way is to use small, dried flowers or petals and sprinkle them on top of your drink. That is mainly suitable for cocktails with egg white foam -or the vegan alternative, aquafaba.

Since the consistency of the foamy top is relatively firm and stable, you can create patterns on top of the foam. For this, you need tweezers, as it is very delicate work. Alternatively, you can also let them sit on large ice cubes.

On a cocktail pick

Then there's also the option to combine different flowers or fruit and flowers using a cocktail pick.

Flowers with slightly bigger blossoms and berries will work especially well together on a cocktail pick

For some flowers, you can also consider letting them soak in liquid, alcoholic or non-alcoholic, before using them. Hibiscus is a good choice here.

Rim your glass

If you don't want the flowers to end up in your cocktail, apply them to the rim of your glass.

Dried tiny edible petals are light enough to stick to a glass's rim like sugar does. -Or salt when you make a Margarita

All you need is a wedge of lemon or lime that you can use to moisten the edge of your glass.

Flower petals on the cocktail glass

Or you can go completely crazy and apply a piece of art to the outside of your glass. I will explain below how you can do that.

Depending on if you do it for a photo or for serving it to someone, keep in mind how people will hold the glass. Otherwise, the garnish can become a challenge for the person supposed to drink the cocktail.

Overview on edible flowers that make a good cocktail garnish 

You can basically use any flower for your cocktail as long as it is edible. -That mainly means not tonic.

Please don't use a flower to garnish your drink you can not identify with certainty, and keep potential plant allergies in mind. To help you choose, here are our favorites:

Apple or Cherry Blossoms

Apple and cherry blossoms

Often medium-sized flowers with white or pale rose-colored petals with a sweet and slightly bitter taste.

You can also use blossoms of other fruit. However, not all might be edible. So always check this first.

Aster as floral cocktail garnish

Aster flowers

Asters have small to medium sizes blossoms with thin, delicate petals. They are usually pale violet, but you can also find them in rose, pink, and sometimes yellow.

Butterfly pea or Asian Pigeonwings 

Butterfly Pea flower

This little blue flower is actually famous for its color-changing capacity when used as a syrup, for example.

However, it also looks cute as a garnish and has an earthy, subtly sweet flavor.

Bee Balm or Oswego Tea

Bee Balm

This one is quite remarkable. The blossoms are red or violet, have a unique shape, and spicy scent and taste. If you never smelled one of these, you will be surprised.

Carnation as cocktail garnish

Carnation flower garnish

Carnations are my favorite flowers for table decor but are also suitable to garnish drinks. They come in various colors and also in different sizes.

You can use them either in whole or individual petals for your garnish. I prefer to leave them in one piece, though.

Chamomile

Chamomile flowers garnish

The allrounder among the flowers. It sometimes seems there's only little left that chamomile can't do.

With its white, slim petals and bright yellow pistils, chamomile blossoms make a very cute garnish on your drink. 

Consider it for cocktails incorporating homemade chamomile cordial or chamomile liqueur like the Italian Ve.n.to. Cocktail.

Cornflower as cocktail garnish

Cornflowers

A beautiful and bright blue-colored flower with jagged petals. Cornflowers have a mild, somewhat endive-like aroma.

Elderflower

Elderflower garnish

These beautiful, tiny, white flowers have a sweet taste and a pleasant scent.

Elderflower turned into syrup, juice, or liqueur is popular in cocktails, as well. So it's the perfect addition to drinks that already contain elderflower elements.

Forget me not

Forget me not flower

Also known as scorpion grasses, these tiny, little flowers are either pale rose, light blue, or white.

Their smell is spicy, though hardly noticeable, and the flavor is somewhat neutral. So, Forget me not is pretty much compatible with all sorts of drinks.

Hibiscus as flower garnish

roselle

Like carnations, hibiscus flowers come in a whole variety of colors. But the Roselle, a type of hibiscus, looks spectacular when you let it soak in a liquid for a while.

You can read more about this below. Also, you can make gorgeous, intensely floral homemade hibiscus syrup with them. 

Lavender

Lavender flowers

Lavender has long and uniquely shaped purple blossoms with a very distinct fragrance.

Some people confuse Lavender with Hyacinth, so be careful here because the latter is toxic.

Marigold

Marigold flower garnish

Marigold is usually also easy to get in dried form. It is a beautiful flower with distinctive yellow to orange petals.

Also, Marigold has a pleasant smell. Their flavor, however, is bitter. Some find it even a bit salty.

Roses as floral cocktail garnish

Rose flowers garnish drinks

Roses are a classic choice if you plan to use individual, silky petals to garnish your cocktail.

Many roses and rose petals have the typical floral aroma, whereas others are neutral. The taste of roses is more on the sweet side.

Wild Carrot

Wild carrot flowers

The Wild Carrot is a relative of our regular carrot and has tiny white blossoms.

It's also known under the name "Queen Anne's lace", which is definitely more elegant, and does the pretty flower more justice.

Yarrow as flower garnish

Yarrow flowers different colors

The individual blossoms of Yarrow are arranged similarly to the wild carrot. However, the shape of the petals is different, and Yarrow comes in more colors.

Yarrow is quite aromatic, with a scent reminiscent of nutmeg. The flavor is comparable to that of chamomile.

I limited this list to 15 flowers, but I could go on forever. There are many, many more.

Most of the above are readily available in the fields around where we live, so it's a good idea to go and check what you can find in your area. -And, naturally, in your garden or that of a friendly neighbor.

How to make edible candied flowers? 

To upgrade the flavor of your floral garnish, you can also turn them into a pretty candy.

All you need to make these sugared flowers or petals are a thin paintbrush, one egg white, a half cup of ultrafine sugar, a teaspoon of water, and of course, the edible flowers or petals.

The amount should be good for 30 to 90 pieces, depending on the size of your flowers.

Coat the flowers

Add egg white, sugar, and water into a bowl and whisk it with a fork until the first few bubbles appear. The texture should not be all foamy, so don't overdo it with the whisking.

Now, use the brush and carefully paint the back and front of your flowers, petals, or leaves with the mixture, one at a time.

Then sprinkle the back and front of your floral garnish with a thin, even layer of superfine sugar and place it on a wire rack to dry. If there are clumps, gently brush them off.

Let the candid flowers dry

Make sure you arrange the petals on the rack in a nice shape. Once they are dried, you cannot change that anymore.

Now repeat this process with all your flowers. Once done, put the rack with your beauties in a dry and cool place and let them sit until the sugar coating is crisp.

Candied flower petals

That will take a day or two. If you are in a hurry, they should be okay to use after five hours, but it's not ideal.

Note: When you use candied flowers to garnish your cocktail, handle them with care. You put quite some time into doing this, and they will always be relatively fragile.

How to make soaked flowers? And which ones to use?

That one is just as straightforward as it sounds. I find it super rare to get results that look that great with so little work. In fact, it is no effort at all.

You only need a sugary -or sugary-boozy liquid of your choice and a suitable flower. One, in particular, is perfect for this: hibiscus. I never use anything else for this because these are so perfect.

Soaked hibiscus flowers

Pour some spirit, e.g., Rum, into a container, add the hibiscus blossoms, and then let it sit for 30 minutes up to a few hours.

You will get a beautiful, boozy garnish, plus a red-colored, hibiscus-flavored Rum, that you can use in your drinks, as well. Win-win.

How to apply floral garnish to the outside of a glass?

As simple as soaking flowers is, as complex and fiddly is this type of floral garnish.

First, you need edible glue and a brush to apply the flowers to the rim or outside of your cocktail glass. Then, tweezers come in handy to arrange the flowers.

Only use a thin layer of glue when working with small flowers, petals, and micro herbs.

Cocktail with flower garnish
Cocktail garnished with flowers and petals

If you want to look for some inspiration, Veermasterberlin truly mastered the art of floral garnishes, as you can see in the photo above. 

He has more of his beautiful artwork on his social media. Also, he makes his own DIY organic glue. If you're interested, he reveals the ingredients from time to time in his insta stories. 

What to consider when using flowers as a garnish?

There are only a few things to keep in mind: 

Tools that come in handy

Where to get flowers to garnish a cocktail?

If you have a backyard, fields, or woods in your surrounding area where wildflowers grow, that is the place to go.

If you don't have this opportunity or feel confident in telling the different flowers apart, buy them in stores or online.

For fresh flowers, it's best to check out a store that isn't too far away from where you live. Otherwise, there is a chance that they arrive looking a little sad and limp - even if the seller says something different.

Specialized Botanical Stores like Gourmet Sweet Botanicals in California are generally recommendable. Sometimes, you might be lucky and get some with Amazon, but they are not always available.

Dried flowers are more convenient to purchase online as they have a longer shelf life.

Do floral garnishes work with all cocktails?

Generally, that is a loud and clear yes. For the purpose of photography, there are no limits anyway.

Also, if you don't plan to put the flower into your drink, there are no objections whatsoever. Placing a blossom beside a cocktail glass can never go wrong.

It's a bit different if you consider using your garnish on top of your drinks or spiked on a pick. In that case, it makes sense to pick a flower with a fragrance and aroma that work with your cocktail.

Dried flowers are a good idea only on top of a cocktail with egg white foam -or the vegan alternative aquafaba, since that keeps them floating on top of the drink.

Other ways to use flowers in cocktails

Pairing your flower garnish with cocktail ingredients with floral aromas can lead to magnificent results. So here are other ways to incorporate flowers into your drinks.

Floral syrups

For instance, you can use them to make floral syrup. More aromatic specimens like lavender, roses, or elderflowers are especially suitable here.

Also, butterfly pea syrup is a favorite due to its color-changing abilities. You boil them down with water and sugar, and you can add extra spices and herbs to your taste. 

Stored in an airtight container in your fridge, flower syrups can last for weeks.

Flower-infused a spirit

Another option is to use them for infusing spirits. White Rum, Vodka, or Tequila are recommendable here, as they are not very aromatic and are high-proof. That helps a lot with absorbing flavor.

As for soaking flowers, you have to add them to the spirit of your choice and let them sit.

If you opt for flowers with a very mild aroma, you can let the alcohol absorb the flavor for up to a week. In this case, use a jar that can be sealed airtight.

Flower Shrub

A third way to use flowers as a cocktail ingredient is by making a shrub, also known as drinking vinegar.

First, you need to make a simple syrup. Then add your flowers and let everything simmer for 15 minutes.

After that, add the vinegar. Let everything simmer for another 5 minutes and strain into a sealable container.

Basically, any vinegar works for shrubs. However, consider personal taste.

On a final note

Flowers make such a pretty garnish. Depending on the desired outcome, it can be an easy, quick and effective way to upgrade your drinks.

If you are more ambitious and passionate about it, it can be elaborate and more time-consuming - but by no means less effective.

Either way, enjoy experimenting with the different flower garnishes for cocktails.

Pouring Rainbow shots is one of the fanciest bartending tricks. If you can fill several shot glasses with different colored liquids out of one single shaker, people won't believe their eyes.

And yes, at first, it seems unbelievable to use just one cocktail shaker and fill up multiple shot glasses of various colors. But it is possible and easily explained with science; no witchcraft or magic needed!

To learn how this works, all you need is a basic understanding of physics and how to make use of it.

How to Make Rainbow Shots

Time needed: 5 minutes.

So here we are. We have all ingredients and tools and are ready to make Rainbow shots. -Below this step-by-step explanation is also a short video to help clarify the procedure. However, it makes sense that you read the instructions first.
Please also remember that, unlike in the clip, you do the layering in a metal shaker, not in glass. That way, nobody can see that the ingredients inside are layered already.

  1. Bottom layer of Grenadine

    Like with a Tequila Sunrise, we add a layer of Grenadine first. For this, measure about 0.5 oz of Grenadine and pour it into your cocktail shaker.
    After that, add crushed ice to the glass until it's filled by 3/4. The density of Grenadine is D = 1.18 g mL-1. [1]

  2. Adding Pineapple juice

    For the next layer, we need pineapple juice. Fresh or bottled, both are fine since you're probably not drinking the shots. Measure 6 oz carefully before pouring it gently via your bar spoon into the glass over the ice.
    We don't want the layers to blend at this stage, so you need to be careful. That should work quite well, as the density of pineapple juice is significantly lower at D = 1.01 g mL-1.

  3. Adding Vodka

    Measure 1 oz of Vodka and pour it into the glass. Use your spoon, just like you did with the pineapple juice, to layer the Vodka on top.
    To some extent, it will mix with pineapple juice, but that's fine. The lower density of D = 0.9 g mL-1 ensures it's not fully blending.

  4. Top layer of Blue Curacao

    That is one of the trickiest parts of the whole process. You have to float Blue Curacao on top of the other liquids. But as it is heavier/denser than the ones below, it will start to mix with the other liquids as soon as you pour it in. 

    As a guide, Blue Curacaos' density is at D = 1.11 g mL-1. Therefore, once you've filled Blue Curacao into the shaker, you should immediately take your strainer and pour the Rainbow Shots. 

    A spoon will help float the 0.75 oz Blue Curacao on top. Slowly add Blue Curacao to the spoon tip and let it drip in. The front of the spoon should touch the inside of the glass while doing this. 

    Important note: Remember the spot where it does because you will need to know for the next step.

    Some bartenders add in the blue liqueur while they're just about to pour the first shot. That's an easy and lazy alternative, which, on the downside, partly ruins the magic of this trick.

  5. Pouring the Shots

    Make sure the shot glasses are perfectly aligned before you start pouring. And once you have added Blue Curacao to your shaker, remove the spoon and grab your strainer. Then start filling up the glasses straight away.

    Now you need to know where the spoon and shaker touched in the step prior to this. Because ideally, you pour the liquid from the side where you floated Blue Curacao. That way, the blending of layers will work best.

    Try to pour even-sized amounts into the glasses. If your pouring speed is consistent, you can produce equally sized shots by counting to four.

    Naturally, your first try won't be perfect. The layering can be wrong, or the timing when pouring the shots could be off.

    But after trying it a few more times, you eventually will get a better feeling and timing; -I promise. And once you know how it works, you can pull this off at any party. Cheers!

What Are Rainbow Shots?

Rainbow Shots are a set of shots served in rainbow colors. It's a popular bartending trick that makes use of different densities in liquids. Hence, each shot has a different color, ABV, and taste.

Rainbow shots are actually not meant for drinking. They are not dangerous or harmful, but they won't taste that good.

How do Rainbow Shots work?

Even though pouring these shots in one go is doable, it still is tricky. So don't be discouraged if it does not work out the first time. To perfectly nail this party trick, you'll need some practice. 

Yet, once you manage to pour some perfect rainbow-colored shots, you know it was worth it; -And you're the star of your next party or gathering.

The trick is to use liquids with different densities. That enables you to layer them inside your cocktail shaker without them mixing. Similar to adding a float to a New York Sour, where the red wine sits on top of the Whiskey Sour cocktail

While pouring the shots, the liquids blend and form a transition of colors. If done right, the result is a perfect rainbow-colored line of glasses. 

The alcohol content of the resulting shooters can vary widely and depends on the ratio of the two alcoholic elements: Vodka and Blue Curaçao. The blue shots, made of only Blue Curacao, have a comparably high alcohol content. Red-colored ones are purely Grenadine and more or less alcohol-free.

How do they taste?

Rainbow Shots don't taste good. That's not the intention. They're not undrinkable, and some may even taste alright, but overall the shots are rather sweet and fruity and are certainly not balanced in taste.

For instance, usually, the red ones are overly sweet since it's only Grenadine -Honestly, nothing I would recommend serving on its own. Blue, on the other hand, is pure bitter orange liqueur - blue curacao - which is "okay" but nothing I would usually serve, either.

Our recipe uses Blue Curacao, pineapple juice, Vodka, and Grenadine. You can also use other ingredients to make these shots since many combinations produce similar results.

The baseline is: If you want shooters worth drinking, these colorful drinks are not it. Unfortunately, there's no combination that actually produces enjoyable shots.

What you need

To perform this nifty bartending trick, you need the right tools, ingredients, and equal-sized shot glasses:

Ingredients

You can make those colorful shots with many different ingredients. But since you will need some practice, I advise using a simple setup that demands a small number of affordable elements. 

Our recommendation is to start making your shots with:

Tools

You only need basic bartending equipment and glasses to layer the liquids and pour the shots. Here's the list of the tools required:

FAQs

Related Articles

As fancy as it looks, the Tequila Sunrise Cocktail isn't exactly appreciated by everyone. By adjusting the measurements, using fresh ingredients, and adding some extra elements, you can get the most out of this 70s classic.

Quick Facts Tequila Sunrise Cocktail

If you want to make a pleasant version of the Tequila Sunrise by today's mixology standards, we have the formula that delivers just that.

Tequila Sunrise cocktail with orange wedge and cherry

Tequila Sunrise Recipe

A Tequila drink famous for mimicking the colors of a beautiful sunrise.
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Tequila
Servings: 1
Calories: 268kcal
Cost: $3.40

Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz Patrón Añejo Tequila
  • 1 oz Cointreau
  • 0.75 oz Aged lime juice
  • 2.5 oz Freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 0.25 oz Creme de Cassis
  • 0.25 oz Grenadine

Instructions

  • Fill up a glass with ice and let it chill.
  • Mix Grenadine with Creme de Cassis and pour the mixture into the glass.
    0.25 oz Creme de Cassis, 0.25 oz Grenadine
  • Add all other ingredients into your cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake until the drink is well-chilled.
    1.5 oz Patrón Añejo Tequila, 1 oz Cointreau, 0.75 oz Aged lime juice, 2.5 oz Freshly squeezed orange juice
  • Slowly and carefully strain the mix into the glass to achieve the characteristic layer effect.

Nutrition

Serving: 7.5ozCalories: 268kcalCarbohydrates: 23.75gProtein: 0.8gSodium: 4.1mgPotassium: 171.65mgSugar: 21.78gVitamin C: 47.5mgCalcium: 116.7mgIron: 0.4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Recommendations for the ingredients

The Tequila Sunrise is uncomplicated and easy to make. You don't even really need a shaker - although I recommend using one for our recipe. With our extended list of ingredients, you bring more complexity to this often one-dimensional, sweet drink:

Tips and Best Practices

Unless you're into cocktails that are overly sweet and taste like sugary juice, the original Tequila Sunrise is not the best choice. With our tips and tricks, you can improve your drink significantly.

Already by extending the original three-ingredient recipe of grenadine, orange juice, and tequila by lime, triple sec, and creme de cassis, you get a drink that's way more suitable for today's palates.

Another important thing is to use freshly squeezed juices and to cool down all ingredients properly. So if you build your drink in the glass, all components should be ice cold.

If you follow our suggestions and combine orange, lime, tequila, and triple sec in the shaker, use plenty of ice cubes and shake for 15 seconds.

And last but not least, serve your Tequila Sunrise over fresh, large ice cubes. Large quality ice cubes will melt slower, and your drink won't water down so fast.

Tequila Sunrise

Origin of the Tequila Sunrise

The Tequila Sunrise recipe as we drink it today is far from the historical original. It was mixed for the first time in the 1930s by a bartender called Gene Sulit at Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.

Back then, there was neither grenadine nor orange juice on the list of ingredients. Instead, the drink was a blend of tequila, crème de cassis, lime juice, and soda water.

Over 40 years later, bartender Bobby Lozoff reinvented the Tequila Sunrise Cocktail and invented today's commonly applied three-ingredient recipe with tequila, orange juice, and grenadine. 

Yet, if it hadn't been for Mick Jagger, we probably would have one less controversial party drink. But from the beginning:

The Rolling Stones made the Tequila Sunrise famous

Lozoff worked at the Trident in Sausalito, CA, when he developed the Tequila Sunrise. And to kick off the Rolling Stones Tour in 1972, Mick Jagger and his colleagues had a private party at this location. 

Of course, Mick Jagger had the chance to try the Tequila Sunrise. He apparently enjoyed it so much that he kept ordering one at every stop in the US - during the whole tour. 

Later on, Mick Jagger even named the tour "The Cocaine and Tequila Sunrise Tour".

At the time, the Trident Bar was the largest outlet for Mexican Tequila in the US. As soon as Jose Cuervo, a leading tequila producer, heard about the success of the Tequila Sunrise Cocktail in 1973, they boosted the hype by printing the recipe on the back of their bottles. That made the victory march of the Tequila Sunrise unstoppable.

In the same year, another rock band, the Eagles, contributed to the success, as well, by releasing a song called "Tequila Sunrise". 

In retrospect, it's no wonder the drink is still known by so many, despite often being somewhat underwhelming. 

The pretty impressive visual presentation and the countrywide hype made everyone believe that this is something you have to try - and like. So people liked it, at least for a while.

Despite its strange name, the Monkey Gland was once a pretty popular cocktail. Invented in Paris sometime in the 1920s, the drink had been a regular serve in Harry's New York Bar.

Today, the mix of dry gin, absinthe, grenadine, and orange juice comes across as somewhat outdated. Also, the bright, almost glowing orange color is a little odd. 

Quick Facts Monkey Gland Cocktail

Indeed, the original recipe would be risky to serve these days. It was equal amounts of gin and orange juice, making the drink very sweet.

Our palates today are more accustomed to sour recipes, so here's the modernized version of the Monkey Gland.

Monkey Gland Cocktail with Orange peel close up

Monkey Gland Recipe

An interesting classic cocktail from Paris. Based on gin and balanced by orange juice, Absinthe, and a bit of Grenadine.
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: French
Keyword: absinthe, Gin, grenadine, orange juice
Servings: 1
Calories: 188kcal
Cost: $2.80

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Dry Gin
  • 0.75 oz Freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tsp Grenadine syrup - e.g., Giffard or homemade
  • 0.5 tsp Absinthe
  • 1 orange peel - for garnish

Instructions

  • Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice.
    2 oz Dry Gin, 0.75 oz Freshly squeezed orange juice, 1 tsp Grenadine syrup, 0.5 tsp Absinthe
  • Shake until the drink is well-chilled and strain into a chilled coupe glass.
  • Garnish with an orange peel. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 3.25ozCalories: 188kcalCarbohydrates: 7.63gSodium: 3.18mgPotassium: 33.32mgSugar: 7.63gVitamin C: 12.5mgCalcium: 10.7mgIron: 0.15mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Ingredients

For the Monkey Gland recipe, you need the following ingredients:

Best Practises to Make the Drink

Follow our quick tips and tricks to make the most of the somewhat unbalanced recipe. 

First, make sure that the glass you will serve your drink in is chilled - either put it in the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes or cool it down with ice cubes while mixing.

Second, as mentioned already, use fresh orange juice. It will make all the difference! I further advise to double strain to remove all fruit fibers.

Third, shake for at least 15 seconds to cool the ingredients enough and to obtain the necessary dilution for your Monkey Gland.

Variations

If you have a sweet tooth, you can try and make a version of the Monkey Gland Cocktail with equal parts gin and orange juice and only half the amount of absinthe:

That is actually the original formula as published in 1930. 

Should our adjusted version in the recipe card above still be too sweet for you, try increasing the absinthe a little more. The more anise-heavy flavor is not for everyone, but I find it very pleasant with the other elements of this drink.

Monkey Gland Cocktail with Orange peel

History of the Monkey Gland Cocktail

The Monkey Gland Cocktail is one of many drinks invented in Harry MacElhone's bar in Paris, the famous Harry's New York bar.

Yet, there's a debate about who actually created the Monkey Gland cocktail first. Either Frank Meier, former bartender of the Ritz Hotel in Paris, or Harry MacElhone himself in the aforementioned New York Bar.

Most cocktail historians seem to agree on the latter and credit the invention to Harry MacElhone, along with numerous other recipes like the Angel Face and the White Lady. However, questioning one of the prominent researchers, David Wondrich also didn't deliver a conclusive answer.

Either way, the drink was born in France, and we know that the Monkey Gland Cocktail got served for the first time during the early 1920s. That is well-documented by newspaper articles from 1923, praising the cocktail and its recipe. 

One of them was an often-quoted article in the Washington Post from April 28th, 1923 (see image). Later, it later appeared in MacElhone's books Barflies and Cocktails and Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails, in 1927 and 1930, respectively.

Why it's called Monkey Gland

The name of the Monkey Gland Cocktail was a -at least at the time- "fun" reference to a controversial and, by today's standards, appalling and cruel medical treatment.

Monkey Gland sounds like an odd and confusing name for a drink. And sure thing, it is:

In the 1920s, a French Surgeon named Serge Voronoff claimed that transplanting monkey testicles into the human scrotum would increase life expectancy. -In his experiments, he had claimed to have seen "signs of increased vitality". 

During the following years, Voronoff transplanted monkey testicles as often as a few hundred times. -All was total nonsense, of course.

It was around the same time the drink came up. The connection between those experiments and the name of the Monkey Gland Cocktail was also confirmed by Harry MacElhone himself. -And its ingredients have absolutely nothing to do with the testicles of monkeys.

When thinking about James Bond, one of the first things that come to mind is how he orders his favorite cocktail, which should be "shaken, not stirred". And the Vesper Martini, a boozy concoction, originally made of a mix of vodka, gin, and Kina Lillet, is tied even closer to the secret agent than the original.

Quick Facts Vesper Cocktail

As can be expected, 007 did like his drinks strong. Thus, the riff contains mostly high-proof alcoholic ingredients. 

Vesper cocktail recipe

Vesper Martini Recipe

A boozy riff on the classic Martini, brought to life by Ian Fleming.
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: British
Keyword: cocchi americano, Gin, vodka
Servings: 1
Calories: 321kcal
Cost: $4.50

Equipment

  • 1 Jigger

Ingredients

  • 3 oz Gordon's Gin
  • 1 oz Grain Vodka
  • 0.5 oz Cocchi Americano
  • 1 Lemon peel

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients (except the lemon peel) into a mixing glass with plenty of ice.
    3 oz Gordon's Gin, 1 oz Grain Vodka, 0.5 oz Cocchi Americano
  • Stir until the drink is well-chilled and strain into a chilled Martini glass.
  • Press the oil out of a lemon peel over the drink to add some aroma to the drink. Rub the twist around the rim of the glass and drop it into the drink.
    1 Lemon peel

Nutrition

Serving: 4.75ozCalories: 321kcalCarbohydrates: 3gSodium: 7mgPotassium: 1mgSugar: 3g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Ingredients for the original Vesper Martini

Ian Fleming, inventor of the Vesper, was exceptionally precise when it came to describing the cocktail and its ingredients. So if you want to make the drink as close to the original as possible, here's what you would need (there's one issue, though): 

Gordon's Gin

For the Gin part, James Bond explicitly asks for Gordon's Gin. Even though this is not the fanciest and most exclusive brand, it has a long tradition in the UK. In fact, not only James Bond swears by it, but also Queen Elizabeth used to. She definitely appreciated a good drink with Gordon's Gin & Dubonnet.

Grain Vodka:

There is no specific brand mentioned in the book for this component. Yet, there's an interesting note stating what kind of vodka is the preferred choice of Mr. Bond. 

After taking a sip of his Vesper, he praised the result. However, not without a recommendation on how to make the drink even better:

"Excellent … but if you can get a Vodka made with grain instead of potatoes, you will find it still better,…"

James Bond

Kina Lillet: 

The only ingredient missing is Kina Lillet. Unfortunately, this product is no longer available as production has stopped. The Lillet company replaced it with Lillet Blanc decades ago. Lillet Blanc is a slightly sweeter version than the original and not the best substitute for the Vesper Martini.

If you're looking for a better alternative, try Cocchi Americano, an Italian dry vermouth. It's much closer to the traditional taste of Kina Lillet and a great substitute.

Shaken or Stirred?

We like to stir this elegant Martini cocktail, but ultimately, it's up to you.

Usually, a drink that only contains alcoholic ingredients is not shaken but stirred. Shaking the Vesper Martini will make for a more aerated, colder, and more diluted drink. The appearance will be more cloudy than its stirred counterpart. 

Vesper Martinis

History of the Vesper cocktail

Perhaps this comes as a surprise, or maybe you already guessed: Ian Fleming, the author who invented and wrote the James Bond novels, is the person who thought up this famous Martini riff. 

He describes how 007 orders the drink in his 1953 novel Casino Royale and explains how he later names it after his love, Vesper Lynd. 

Thus, the story of how the Vesper came to life is pretty unusual. Most cocktails were invented in a bar or at least first mentioned in books written by experienced bartenders. 

It is rare that such a famous cocktail comes from someone who is a consumer rather than a drink inventor. But that's just what happened with the Vesper Martini.

Because the Vesper is a relatively recent creation and well-documented thanks to its first appearance in a bestselling novel, we know the components and exact measurements: A mix of Gin, Vodka, and Kina Lillet. Or, like James Bond said it:

"Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel."

James Bond

Related Cocktails

The Martini is one of the most tweaks and twisted cocktail recipes of all. Often so much so that the results have barely anything to do with the original apart from the name and the glass. When you want to keep it classy and elegant like the Vesper, try some of these variations:

And for some entirely different approaches to the classic, head over to our overview of the different types of Martinis.

Rum, mint, and lime juice are a great combination, as we all know from the Mojito Cocktail. When mixing these three ingredients, the result is sour, herbal, and very refreshing. 

Audrey Saunders, one of New York's bartending legends, took this all-time favorite and has turned it into the Old Cuban while respecting its Caribbean roots. 

Quick Facts Old Cuban Cocktail

The Old Cuban is more sophisticated than the Mojito, which does not only show in the ingredients but also in preparation and presentation. 

Old Cuban cocktail with jigger, cocktail bitters, and cork

Old Cuban Recipe

Dark aged rum mixed with mint, lime, and sugar. Topped off with some nice bubbly Champagne
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: angostura, Champagne, lime juice, rum, Rum Cocktail, simple syrup
Servings: 1
Calories: 168kcal
Cost: $3.40

Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz Aged Rum
  • 0.5 oz Simple syrup
  • 0.75 oz Freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 oz Champagne
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 6 Mint leaves
  • 1 Mint sprig or leaf

Instructions

  • Add mint leaves, syrup, and freshly squeezed lime juice to your cocktail shaker and gently muddle the leaves.
    0.5 oz Simple syrup, 0.75 oz Freshly squeezed lime juice, 6 Mint leaves
  • Pour Rum and bitters into the shaker, add ice and shake until well-chilled.
    1.5 oz Aged Rum, 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • Double-strain your drink into a chilled coupe glass.
  • Top up the cocktail with the Champagne and garnish with a sprig of mint or a single mint leaf.
    1 oz Champagne, 1 Mint sprig or leaf

Nutrition

Serving: 4ozCalories: 168kcalCarbohydrates: 9.13gSodium: 9mgPotassium: 31.75mgSugar: 8.91gVitamin C: 7.5mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Ingredients & Recommendations

The traditional Mojito ingredients like rum, mint, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup build the foundation of the Old Cuban but get extended by a splash of champagne.

Taking a closer look, you will notice more differences than just replacing the soda water: -Where the original asks for crisp and fresh white rum, the recipe for the Old Cuban Drink calls for aged dark rum instead:

Best Practices for Mixing the Drink

There are some things you should consider when making this rum cocktail. One is that it gets double strained to ensure all large mint leaf pieces get filtered out.

Another vital factor for a perfect Old Cuban is that the glass should be chilled in the freezer or with the help of some ice cubes because the cocktail is served without ice.

Also, don't use too much force when muddling the mint because it will release a bitter aroma when you overdo it. You can read more on that in an article Emma Jensen wrote for imbibe.

Our fourth and final tip is to use a sparking wine with high carbonation. You use only 1 oz and don't want your drink to be sparkly and not fall flat.

Old Cuban Cocktail

The story behind the Old Cuban Cocktail

Audrey Saunders invented the Old Cuban recipe. She is a famous bartender who worked in many places in New York. 

During her time at Pegu Club in Soho, she even trained and mentored a respectable number of other talented barkeepers. Many of them are now among the top bartenders in the country. 

But not only did Audrey leave footmarks as a mentor and trainer. She also created some unique and beautiful cocktails that are served all over the world. 

Many of her drinks are based on classic recipes and flavor combinations. She truly mastered the art of reinventing classics by tweaking them in her own unique way. The results often are no simple riffs. 

One of those drinks is the Old Cuban cocktail. Saunders invented the drink in 2001 while working for a restaurant called Beacon. So this took place even before the Renaissance of mixology and the craft cocktail movement started.

Related Cocktails

Other refreshing drinks with a minty kick you can try are:

Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in many places around the globe on various dates throughout the year. But it's nowhere as important a holiday as it is in North America. There, families and friends gather to share a fine dinner and celebrate together. It's also the start of the festive season.

We all know the idea of Thanksgiving is to be thankful. And it is also about getting together with loved ones.

Now, what better way could there be to upgrade such an evening than with some delicious, extravagant cocktails? If you're like us, there isn't much that could be better. So let us show you our favorite Thanksgiving Cocktail to start the festive season.

1. After Dinner Negroni

As the name suggests, this drink from cocktailpete is a good one to enjoy after a lavish Thanksgiving dinner. The characteristic bitterness of a regular Negroni gets balanced out by the sweetness from the Tiramisu liqueur and the chocolate bitters.

After Dinner Negroni drink

Ingredients

30ml (1oz) Gin
30ml (1oz) Sweet Vermouth
25ml (0.85oz) coffee-infused Campari
15ml (0.5oz) tiramisu liqueur
one dash of chocolate bitters
one dehydrated orange slice
coffee beans

Cool your glass by putting ice cubes in it before starting to mix your Thanksgiving Negroni.

Put all ingredients in a mixing glass, add plenty of ice, and stir until the contents are well-chilled.

Then remove the ice from the previously prepared glass, and strain your drink into it. Add a large ice cube and garnish with the dehydrated orange wheel and some coffee beans.

2. Grouse Rampant

I am a big fan of Sours. They are always such crowd-pleasers. And this recipe from Death and Company (New York), interpreted by Alan, is just the perfect way to turn a traditional Whiskey Sour into a beautiful Thanksgiving Cocktail.

Grouse Rampant sour cocktail

Ingredients

60ml (2oz) Johnny Walker Scotch 12 Years infused with Fuji Apple
25ml (0.85oz) lime juice
10ml (0.35oz) homemade acacia honey syrup
10ml (0.35oz) homemade cinnamon bark syrup
one egg white
Edible prints for garnish

Add all ingredients except for the edible prints in your cocktail shaker. Don't add ice yet. Cocktails containing egg white should be dry-shaken first. 

After the dry shake, add ice to your shaker and shake again. Carefully strain your drink into a chilled glass.

If you don't know how to make your own honey syrup, you can check it out here. And if you don't want to go through the trouble of getting edible leaf prints, a bit of cinnamon power on top works nicely, too. 

However, should you want those prints (because they are pretty cool, honestly), you can best get them online.

3. Coffee Banoffee

A boozy, sweet delight by the.hometender that works brilliantly as a substitute for a dessert after your Thanksgiving dinner. The Coffee Banoffee is perfect for all who are not much of a classic dessert person but still have no objection to something sweet at the end of a meal.

Coffee Banoffee drink

Ingredients

30ml (1oz) Aged Dark Rum
15ml (0.5oz) Coffee Liqueur
30ml (15ml) brewed Coffee
25ml (0.85oz) banana syrup
15ml (0.5oz) caramel syrup
one egg white
Spun sugar toffee for garnish

Add all the ingredients (not the toffee) into your cocktail shaker. To make the egg white float nice and foamy, perform a dry shake first. -That means you don't add ice yet.

Then give it a good shake for about 15 seconds before adding ice and shaking again until everything is well chilled.

Strain everything into your pre-chilled glass and garnish it with a spun toffee nest.

4. Winter Rita

The Margarita is among the most popular summer cocktails and a must when vacationing in Mexico. But with a few small tweaks to the recipe by thebitterfairy, this summer classic becomes winterproof.

Winter Margarita cocktail

Ingredients

50ml (1.75oz) Tequila Blanco
10ml (0.25oz) Campari
20ml (0.75oz) lime juice
15ml (0.5oz) fresh blood orange juice
15ml (0.5oz) rosemary syrup
coarse-grained salt for the rim

Prepare your glass and moisten the rim with the juice from a lime wedge. Then apply a bit of coarse-grained salt. -For example, Fleur-de-Sel. It has a better taste and mouthfeel than regular salt.

Also, add some ice cubes to the glass before mixing the cocktail. That will chill it down nicely.

Now, add all ingredients and lots of ice to your shaker, shake until the content is well-chilled, and then strain it into your glass.

5. Marzipaneca

Marzipan is a flavor closely tied to this time of the year when the days get shorter and colder. And by combining Disaronno Originale and Maraschino liqueur with a few drops of rose water, spiritedla created a flavor that resembles marzipan so well. 

The thing about marzipan is you either hate it or you absolutely love it. If you belong to the second group, the Marzipaneca is a fabulous Thanksgiving cocktail to kick off the festive season.

Marzipaneca marzipan cocktail

Ingredients

60ml (2oz) Armagnac
25ml (0.85oz) Amaretto (recommendation: Disaronno Liqueur)
10ml (0.25oz) Maraschino Liqueur
3 dashes of orange bitters
2 drops of rose water

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass, add plenty of ice and stir for a little while until the contents are well-chilled. Then strain over ice into a glass and add some small branches of flowers as a garnish, if you like.

6. Hazelnut Sour

This Thanksgiving drink has a heavenly balance of sweet and sour notes that's also relatively low in ABV. The famous Italian hazelnut liqueur, Frangelico, gives the classy and elegant cocktail a nutty aroma without making it too rich and heavy.

Frangelico Hazelnut Sour

Ingredients

40ml (1.35oz) freshly squeezed lemon juice
60ml (2oz) Frangelico
15ml (0.5oz) gingerbread syrup
15ml (0.5oz) dry red wine
1 egg white or Aquafaba
1 or 2 pinches of ground hazelnuts

Put all ingredients into your shaker and perform a dry shake first. Then, add ice and shake again until the shaker feels chilled and icy. Then slowly strain over ice into your glass.

For the red wine, use a bar spoon and carefully float it on top. Garnish with ground hazelnuts. - They won't get into your cocktail, as they sit nicely on top of the egg-white foam.

If you think about using another hazelnut liqueur, be aware that Frangelico has a unique and distinct taste, and the drink will likely turn out very differently.

Campari is a deep red and bitter liqueur made in Italy. The liqueur is made by infusing alcohol and water with several herbs, fruits, roots, and barks.

Its alcohol content (ABV) ranges from 20.5% to 28% (41 to 56 proof), depending on the country in which it is sold. For instance, in most European countries it has 25%, the US sells Campari at 24%, and Argentina and Brazil are at the top of the range with 28% vol.

The bitter liqueur is a main ingredient in many aperitivo cocktails like the famous Negroni, Americano, and Negroni Sbagliato.

Campari vs Aperol

Campari and Aperol are both popular amaro liqueurs, owned by Gruppo Campari. The main difference is taste: Campari is distinctly bitter and herbal with a more restrained sweetness. Aperol, on the other hand, is much lighter, brighter, less bitter, and with a pronounced orange flavor. The second striking difference is the color. Whereas Campari is a deep reed, Aperol has a bright, vibrant orange color.

Campari is also almost twice as strong as Aperol, with an ABV of 24% to 25% compared to 11% of alcohol by volume in Aperol. This makes Aperol a much lighter and brighter liqueur, perfect for refreshing cocktails like an Aperol Spritz. Generally, if you're new to drinking bitter amaro liqueurs, start with lighter expressions and gradually train your palate to bolder amaro types like Campari or Fernet.

Best Campari substitutes

Depending on how you intend to drink it, the recommended substitutes may vary. Drank neat, Leopold Bros. Aperitivo is the best alternative to Campari. In cocktails and other mixed drinks, Contratto Bitter and Tempus Fugit's Gran Classico are excellent replacements for Campari.

For a detailed look at this topic, check out our guide to the best alternatives to Campari. 

What is Campari Made of?

The herbal bittersweet liqueur consists of many, many components. The exact list and number of ingredients are not known. But it's believed to be anywhere from 10 to 70; Quite a range, to be honest.

However, some I can name with a decent degree of certainty. These would be Chinotto, Cascarilla, gentian, orange, rhubarb, and also ginseng.

Chinotto is one of the essential ingredients. The orange-like small fruit has a strong bitter taste and is responsible for Campari's bitterness. In Italy, the small and bitter fruit is also commonly used in carbonated soft drinks.

Additionally, there are a number of dried herbs needed. But no one exactly knows what they are. Well, no one besides the factory director. But whatever the recipe is, it's still the original version Gaspare Campari created in 1860. -Long live tradition.

Campari's Bold and Bitter Flavor Profile

The flavor of Campari is complex with a strong bitter flavor, a distinct herbal taste, hints of oranges and cherry, and spicy notes of clove and cinnamon.

If you try the red bitter for the first time, you most likely will not be positively surprised. It offers quite a complex and unique flavor profile you probably need to get used to before you can really enjoy it.

On the first sip, you notice the intensely sweet and bitter notes. Only once you overcome the initial boost of bitterness can you taste the herbal and fruity, citrus notes of the liqueur.

It's hard to describe and definitely impossible to compare with other liqueurs. It's an acquired taste, but once you get used to it, you'll find many subtle aromas like orange peel, arugula, various herbs, and hints of cinnamon.

How to Drink

How to drink - Campari on the rocks

In Italy, Campari is often served on the rocks with an orange peel garnish. The rest of the world prefers to mix this red bitter liqueur into cocktails. The herbal ingredients make it ideal for drinks like aperitivo cocktails (aperitifs) and digestivos (digestifs). These drinks either prepare your stomach for an upcoming meal (aperitifs), stimulate appetite, or help your body with digestion (digestif).

Campari-forward recipes like a Negroni or Americano are often overpowering for people new to the bitter taste. If that's the case with you, start slowly with a Garibaldi cocktail - a concoction of Campari and orange juice.

History of the iconic bitter liqueur

Gaspare Campari invented the iconic liqueur in 1860 in Novara, Italy, a city in the Piedmont region, just west of Milan.

The story behind the company

The first production plant was established about 44 years later in Sesto San Giovanni. Sesto, as it's often called, belongs to the Metropolitan region of Milan.

Since then, Campari and Milan belong together. And on today's bottles, you can still find a prominent mention of Milan on the upper part of the bottle label.

Campari origin

Gaspare Campari was responsible for the original recipe. But it wasn't until his son Davide took over that the company began to grow and export its product. Nowadays, the brand sells in more than 190 countries.

And it's no longer just Campari. In fact, Gruppo Campari owns around 45% of the global liqueur market. They acquired Aperol and other famous Italian brands like Frangelico, Amaro Averna, and Cynar.

Were insects used to color Campari?

As I said before, Campari itself is mostly recognized by its color and taste. Because both were so unusual, people started to wonder.

Eventually, they came up with the idea that Campari would use insects to color the liqueur. And, believe it or not, that turned out to be true.

The original version used carmine dye to create the iconic color. And carmine is made of crushed cochineal insects. However, in 2006 this stopped, and they began using artificial colors for the liqueur.

But people didn't only wonder about the iconic color. They also were curious about the intense bitter and herbal taste.

The exact ingredients are a well-kept secret, though. What we know is that Chinotto and Cascarilla are part of it. But let's have a closer look at the ingredients.

Campari Cocktails

Campari cocktails

Cocktail recipes rarely ask for a specific brand of alcohol but are often paired with gin. There are plenty of Italian aperitifs and classic cocktails based on the bittersweet Italian liqueur, even in the standardized IBA list for drink recipes. Here's a list of drinks to make with Campari:

But also outside the IBA-listed drinks, many classics ask for Campari as an ingredient, like the Garibaldi, Jungle Bird, and Negroni Spritz, to name just a few.

A Fernandito is served in a tall Highball glass over plenty of ice. And the original name of it is a lot more descriptive and straightforward: Fernet con Coca. But Fernandito became official when the IBA listed the drink under that name. 

Fernet con Coca literally translates to Fernet with Coke. But what sounds a little bland and trivial is, in fact, the national cocktail of a large country: Argentina. 

And despite Fernet Branca being an Italian bitter, the Fernandito cocktail or Fernet con Coca also originates in Argentina.

Italians brought Fernet to Argentina

The success of the Fernandito cocktail started in the early 20th century when Italian immigrants brought Fernet into the country. From then on, consumption of Fernet grew steadily. 

There is no written documentation on how and why the spirit was such a huge success. But in 1941, Fernet decided to build a separate distillery in Buenos Aires to keep up with the demand.

For a very long time, Fernet was consumed mainly as an aperitif and digestif. And that's still the standard way to drink it in Europe. 

But in Argentina, in the 1990s, that changed dramatically when the Fernandito suddenly became more and more popular. 

History of the Fernandito

People say that the drink got invented during the 1950s in Cordoba, the second-largest city in Argentina, as a riff on the more subtle Fernet and soda. But there are many other possible stories about who and when the drink got made the first time. 

Yet, what is known is that in the 80s, the Fernandito cocktail became widely popular in the Cordoba Province. After that, it took only a few more years until the drink became a nation's favorite. 

But that wouldn't have happened without the efforts of the Fernet Branca brand and Coca-Cola.

Marketing campaigns by Fernet and Coca-Cola

Once Fernet realized what was happening in Argentina, their marketing team came up with an idea. They started promoting drinking it with coke. First, without Coca-Cola's support, but later both ran co-branded campaigns. 

One of the biggest marketing stunts was when Fernet handed out samples in bars, popular coastal towns, and distinctive landscapes like the Perito Moreno glacier.

These campaigns were super successful. In fact, they were considered one of the most effective marketing strategies in the whole of Argentina. 

From there on, the success of the Fernandito had no limits. And nowadays, you can't go anywhere without bumping into this iconic drink.

Argentina's favorite cocktail

No matter where you go in Argentina, Fernet con Coca is there, too. It's by far the most popular cocktail in the country. 

To inexperienced Fernandito drinkers, the flavor profile might be quite something else. The Fernandito cocktail is bittersweet, minty, and herbaceous. A pretty complex profile considering there are only two ingredients in the drink.

Argentinians love it, no matter at what time of the day. They drink it Saturday night when they're out partying. And if feeling hungover on Sunday, they counter the headache with a hearty slurp of the Fernandito. 

Scientifically this doesn't work, but we all know what a little faith can do.

The drink became so popular that Argentina is now the leading country in the consumption of Fernet Brancaby far. Sounds unlikely? Well, it is true. 

These days, Argentina is responsible for over 75% of the global Fernet Branca consumption. And because it's so famous there, Fernet even opened a second distillery in Buenos Aires.

Additionally, as the second ingredient is Coca-Cola, the sales of coke are also way above average. To be precise, Argentinians consume four times the amount of the global average. 

And these numbers are even more impressive if you count in that it's only due to the consumption of that one drink, the Fernandito cocktail.

About Fernet Branca

Fernet Branca, usually called Fernet, is an Amaro from Italy. Amaros are bitter and aromatic spirits made of different herbs and spices. 

The base of Fernet is a distilled grape spirit, whereas the other ingredients can vary from time to time, according to the brand. Some known fixtures include myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, aloe, saffron, and cardamom.

Fernet Branca is just one of many famous Italian liqueurs. In line with Maraschino liqueur, Cynar, Campari, Aperol, and Frangelico - to name just a few of them.

If you want to know more about Fernet Branca, how to substitute it or their minty expression, read also:

Fernandito cocktail on tray

Fernandito

Argentinias national drink made of Fernet and coke.
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Argentinian
Keyword: coke, Fernet
Servings: 1
Calories: 204kcal
Cost: $2.50

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Fernet Branca
  • 6 oz Coke

Instructions

  • Fill a chilled Highball glass with plenty of ice and pour in the Fernet Branca.
    2 oz Fernet Branca
  • Top up with coke and gently stir the drink before serving.
    6 oz Coke

Nutrition

Serving: 8ozCalories: 204kcalCarbohydrates: 26gSugar: 26g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

The Penicillin Cocktail is one of the few popular Scotch drinks on bar menus. The reason for the limited number is as simple as it is obvious. Scotch is a fantastic spirit to drink neat, but in a cocktail, the smokiness of the whisky can turn out to be quite a challenge.

Quick Facts Penicillin Cocktail

This modern classic is one bold drink. The Penicillin Cocktail mixes the smoky notes of Scotch, spice from the ginger, and sweetness from honey and marries these flavors with lemon juice.

Penicillin cocktail with garnish

Recipe Penicillin Cocktail

A delicious Scotch cocktail made with honey-ginger syrup.
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 3 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: ginger, honey, scotch, whiskey
Servings: 1
Calories: 236kcal
Cost: $3.40

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Blended Scotch - (Dewar's 12 years or Famous Grouse)
  • 0.75 oz Lemon juice
  • 0.75 oz Honey-ginger syrup
  • 0.25 oz Islay Scotch - (Lagavulin 16 years or Laphroaig 10 years)
  • Candied ginger for garnish

Instructions

  • Add blended Scotch, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and the honey syrup into a cocktail shaker with ice.
    2 oz Blended Scotch, 0.75 oz Lemon juice, 0.75 oz Honey-ginger syrup
  • Shake until well-chilled and strain over fresh ice into an Old Fashioned glass.
  • Float with Islay Scotch and optionally garnish the drink with candied ginger.
    0.25 oz Islay Scotch, Candied ginger for garnish

Nutrition

Serving: 4ozCalories: 236kcalCarbohydrates: 6.98gFat: 0.05gSodium: 0.25mgPotassium: 26.5mgSugar: 6.8gVitamin C: 10.25mgCalcium: 1.5mgIron: 0.03mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

What Scotch for a Penicillin Cocktail?

The Penicillin drink is actually made with two different types of Scotch. The first is a blended Scotch mixed with the other ingredients and strained into a cocktail glass. A float of Islay Scotch completes the drink.

If you're looking for a recommendation, we have you covered:

For the blended Scotch, we like Dewar's 12-year-old blended Scotch. If this is over budget, go for Famous Grouse. That is an established and reasonably priced alternative.

The float of heavily peated Scotch is the key to nailing this drink. If you get this one right, it lifts the cocktail to another level. A smoky Islay will fit nicely. 

Now, if you want something really exclusive, a float of Lagavulin 16 years makes this drink extra delicious. I know it's not for the faint-hearted, but it packs some nice smoky notes. Another more affordable recommendation would be Laphroaig 10 years.

We promise the cocktail tastes incredible! The peaty, earthy flavors of the Scotch marry amazingly well with the honey-ginger syrup - ideally homemade.

Making Honey-Ginger Syrup for the Penicillin

It is easy to make your honey-ginger syrup - even if you're new to making honey syrup or even regular simple syrup at home. All you need is a little time, as you may want to let the ginger steep overnight. But let's look at the ingredients first:

Ingredients:

How to make it:

Penicillin cocktail

Best Practise for Mixing

When making the Penicillin Cocktail the way you will get it at your favorite bar, follow these tips:

History of the Penicillin Cocktail

The classy list of ingredients of the Penicillin sounds like the drink potentially could be way older than it is. Yet, the cocktail is rather new: Sam Ross invented it in the 2000s while working at New York's popular drinking den Milk & Honey in Eldridge Street- meanwhile renamed to Attaboy.

That is also the place famous for inventing the Gold Rush cocktail - a drink made of Bourbon, lemon juice, and honey. So, it is pretty safe to say Ross got inspired by that recipe.

He replaced Bourbon with Scotch and spiced up the recipe with ginger. To optimize that further, he created a beautifully balanced honey-ginger syrup, the recipe for which you can find above.

Related Cocktail Recipes

Apart from this recipe, the Rusty Nail and the Blood & Sand are two Scotch Cocktails that you can find on many bar menus.

Other than that, there is only a small number of Scotch drinks and some riffs on other classics - if you want some inspiration, here's our list of the best Scotch Cocktails.

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