My Love of Whisky Cocktails: Inspiration to both sip and mix your whisky

I didn't like whisky when I got into whisky

That's not a typo. Back in 2008 I was working at Tigerlily, a hotel bar in Edinburgh, and whisky was not my drink. I'd studied it a little: basic bar training, picking up bottles while dusting the back bar, trying to tell one Glen from another. Our speed rail pour was Bailie Nicol Jarvie, affectionately known as BNJ, a blend from the Glenmorangie Company that only when you mention it does it spring to mind for some. It was discontinued in 2014 but was an exceptional whisky - so so well crafted. Looking back now, with everything I've learned since, it was an incredible whisky. I just didn't have the palate for it yet.

But I wanted to. So I did what any bartender does when they want to understand a spirit - I started trying to learn as much as I could about the category - in between shifts, reading books, asking colleagues, playing with it.

I figured if I mixed whisky with flavours my palate already knew and liked, I'd find my way in. So I did. Maple syrup Old Fashioneds. Fruity, easy-drinking highballs. Anything that softened the edges while I learnt to like the ‘shade’ of whisky in the background. It worked.

A big moment I remember - my smoky whisky ah-ha moment - was a Rob Roy made with Ardbeg 10. Smoke, sweet vermouth, bitters. Something clicked that hadn't clicked before. From there my love of whisky just kept growing. So did my love of whisky cocktails, and it's never really stopped.

Why whisky cocktails work

Here's the thing about whisky cocktails that I think gets misconstrued: they're not a lesser way to drink whisky. When the occasion calls for it, they’re the best way for it. 

Whisky is flexible in a way people don't give it credit for. Sure, you can mix it with seventeen ingredients and get something excellent at the end that doesn’t taste a remote bit like whisky, but you can also mix it with three or four and - if you get the balance right - it’s exceptional. These tend to be my favourite ones. A great Old Fashioned. A Manhattan with a really good Bourbon (I use our New Riff bottling, or Angel’s Envy). A highball! Whisky and soda. Two ingredients. Feeling fancy - twist some lemon over the top.

And there's a particular joy in making a whisky cocktail for someone who's convinced they don't like whisky. I've done it more times than I can count - handed someone a boulevardier (a whisky negroni) or a penicillin with no warning of what's in it, and watched them enjoy it before saying there’s actually whisky in it. That moment of surprise is a joy - especially as it’s often their ‘ah-ha’ moment too. 

Whisky cocktails that live rent-free in my head

I should say - I'm biased here. I spent eight years as a global whisky ambassador, which meant eight months a year, every year, travelling around the world to drink whisky, talk about whisky, and sit in some of the best whisky bars in the world. That's a lot of cocktails to draw on.

A few that have stayed with me:

• Mizuwari’s served in some of Tokyo’s best bars. Whisky and water - nothing more - but served over crystal-clear ice pillars and built with a precision I still haven't fully worked out. Two ingredients, but some of the most jaw-dropping serves I've ever had.
• A Penicillin made by Sam Ross himself - the man who invented the drink - at his bar Attaboy in New York. I can still picture it. It's making me want one right now, if I'm honest, though it's a little early even for me.
• A pineapple old fashioned made with Craigellachie during our ‘Craigellachie 51’ tour in South Africa. So simple, yet so excellent. Pineapple syrup, whisky, old fashioned bitters. Stunning. 
• And closer to home: a strawberry highball built on The Heart Cut BARLEY, currently on the menu at Lyaness in London — a bar owned by a dear friend of ours, Ryan Cheti.

Thinking about it, I have SO many memories of great whisky cocktails - and I know I have many more to come. 

I just asked Fab what his favourite ‘whisky cocktail experience’ is and he replied ‘well that’s obvious, the Manhattan’s we have in the garden once the kids have gone to bed’. You don’t need a fancy bar to have an excellent experience and a great cocktail.

Why I'm bringing this front of mind

I think whisky cocktails are sometimes poo poo’d. That they’re seen as inferior to drinking whisky neat, but I don’t buy that. They're just a different lens on the same spirit - one that harnesses creativity, showcases flexibility and rewards curiosity That's the whole reason I still love making them. 

If you're someone who thinks whisky isn't for you, my honest advice is: don't start with a neat pour. Start with a glass, some ice, and something you already like the taste of. See where it takes you.

And if you’re someone who loves whisky, but thinks whisky cocktails aren’t for you, the same rules apply. Start with a glass, some ice, and something you already like the taste of. See where it takes you.

Got a favourite whisky cocktail or whisky cocktail moment? Reply and tell us, we'd love to hear it.

Got a question for Georgie? Email georgie@theheartcut.com

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