Whiskey Cocktail Recipes

Dive into the world of whiskey with The Drinky Drink Project. Here, you’ll find various whiskey cocktail recipes that will blow your mind. Contact me for more information.

Ingredients:

• Bourbon
• Peach Liqueur
• Lemon Juice
• Club Soda

I used peach brandy instead of peach liqueur.

Food and Wine call this a Collins. I think it is better described as a Peach-Bourbon Rickey. Air-conditioning in a glass.

The flower is a nasturtium, and there is a story. My friend since high school sent me seeds from the plants growing in her garden in Seattle. I planted them, and every seed sprouted! They are unique in that they have variegated leaves. I just started seeing the first few blossoms yesterday.

I knew nasturtiums are edible, but I had never tasted one until tonight. I heard they are peppery…okay, but that’s not the best way to describe it, in my opinion. To me, they taste EXACTLY like radishes, both the flowers and the leaves. Not kind of like radishes, EXACTLY. I love the taste.

The Peach-Bourbon Collins cocktail is cold and refreshing, bourboney, and a little sweet. It hits the spot after a hot afternoon dog walk.

Ingredients:

• Irish Whiskey
• Lillet Blanc
• Cointreau
• Orange Bitters

This is a modern riff on a Manhattan, with Lillet instead of sweet vermouth. And what a nice riff it is! The mellow Irish whiskey allows the Lillet and Cointreau to shine through, so it’s very citrus-forward. Tastes like a summer version of a Manhattan.

Ingredients:

• Bourbon
• Lime Juice
• Sparkling Water

I used Topo Chico and added a little simple syrup.

Bourbon Rickey, also known as Air Conditioning in a Glass, is a good choice for a hot summer day. I chose this for both the hot day and for Bourbon the Whippet. She won Best in Breed today at Westminster and then went on to win Best in Group (Hounds). She’ll be up for Best in Show later tonight!

I’m going to put the Dandy cocktail recipe right here, straight from The Savoy Cocktail Book, because every online recipe gets it way wrong. WAY wrong. C’mon internet! Classics are classics for a reason!

Ingredients:

• 5 Oz. Canadian Whisky
• 5 Oz. Dubonnet
• 1 Dash Angostura
• 3 Dashes Cointreau
• Lemon Peel
• Orange Peel

I added Dubonnet to my bar! This opens up a world of cocktails like Dandy from the Savoy Cocktail book that I haven’t been able to try yet.

For a long time, I thought Dubonnet was an old-fashioned thing that was no longer available, like maybe Hercules or Prunelle. Things that appear in the Savoy book that I haven’t been able to find anywhere. But Dubonnet is still around! In fact, Queen Elizabeth’s favorite cocktail is rumored to be Dubonnet and gin.

There are some great old commercials for it on YouTube. One with Pia Zadora singing and being sexy about Dubonnet and another, titled “Farrah Fawcett and Tom Selleck 1972 commercial for Dubonnet” (go watch!), suggests that Dubonnet is an “old lady” drink but features a young, hot Farrah Fawcett in a cowboy hat drinking it straight up. A little rebranding attempt in 1971, I’m guessing.

So, Dubonnet. Much like sweet vermouth but with fewer bitter notes and more berry flavor. Sort of a less challenging version of sweet vermouth. I could drink Dubonnet straight, no problem. But sweet vermouth is an easy substitute if you don’t have Dubonnet in your bar.

The Dandy cocktail is lovely! Really a riff on a Manhattan, and my first drink to be shaken with fruit peels. Normally, we stir boozy cocktails like this, no shaking…but I’m guessing Craddock (the author of Savoy) suggested shaking to release some of the orange and lemon peel oils right into the cocktail. The addition of Cointreau makes the orange flavor really shine, and the use of mellow Canadian whisky means the Dubonnet isn’t overwhelmed. Very smooth and friendly.

I think I’m going to enjoy my new bottle of Dubonnet. I kind of went nuts with the length of this post, but that’s what you get when you follow a cocktail nerd on Instagram. I’m really excited about this shit.