Scoff Law Cocktail
November 7th, 2007 | Published in liqueur, mixers, rye, whiskey | 5 Comments
Generally I try to learn from my mistakes. Using all whole-wheat flour when making pancakes? Little bit like eating cardboard. Drinking anything of a color that resembles neon? Hangover. Taking on my sister at Dance Dance Revolution? Sweaty, pathetic failure. As a result, I don’t do these things anymore.
Thus, when cruising through the Savoy Cocktail Book the boyfriend and I found a recipe for the American Beauty, we jumped right in. It sounded good and came out a beautiful, cheerful red (thankfully not neon!). We gave it a sip. And both said the same thing: yuck.
The poor drink was just drowning in grenadine. Apparently the proportions were askew, or tastes have changed, because that was like drinking a melted cherry Slurpee. So, when I returned to the books the next night for a cocktail rematch, I had learned my lesson: when it comes to grenadine, caveat emptor.
1½ oz rye whiskey
1 oz dry vermouth
¾ oz lemon juice
½ oz grenadineShake ingredients vigorously over ice. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
This drink, like so many great classics, was taken from Doc’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. I cross-referenced the recipe with the Savoy, which unfortunately called for Canadian whisky. That idea hit my stomach like a sledgehammer, so I opted for Doc’s much more appealing rye version.
I cut back on the grenadine to just slightly more than half an ounce from the original amount of three-quarters. That was just sweet and syrupy enough for me, so those of you playing along at home may want to try half an ounce first and add more (if necessary) to suit your tastes. As was, this had the malty, warm bite of the rye souped up with a little vermouth shine. The brightness of the lemon flavor and the sweetness of the grenadine add a little bit of oomph for a pleasant warmer on a cool fall night.
November 9th, 2007at 1:44 pm(#)
I made one of these recently because, well, it’s like the name of our blog! However, I used a recipe from http://www.drinkboy.com
http://community.livejournal.com/scofflaws_den/5530.html
I’ve been meaning to give it another shot. I’ll have to try your recipe, I think it sounds better.
November 12th, 2007at 6:52 am(#)
I love the Scofflaw..it was one of the first recipes I tried after picking up Ted Haigh’s book, and like you, I enjoyed it so much I ended up blogging it.
I also realized that this was one of those “gateway drinks” I’d give to someone who claimed they didn’t like a particular spirit (in this case whiskey).
Now if I could only find a reliable source for decent rye… ;-)
November 14th, 2007at 10:39 am(#)
SeanMike—In Doc’s notes on the Scoff Law, he specifically mentions that Canadian whisky was erroneously called for here (particularly in the Savoy) because it contained a high percentage of rye in the blend. The flavor of modern Canadian is different now, though, so rye is a better bet. Let me know how it turns out next time!
Dr Bamboo—While this would make an excellent gateway drink, have you tried the Black and Tan Jamie Boudreau blogged? I featured it here as well, but I think that’s the ultimate rye gateway drink. In fact, I don’t know that most people who purport to dislike whiskey would even be able to tell it was in there.
Hey, you aren’t far from NYC, right? Get over and visit LeNell’s! The woman makes her own rye—I’d say it’s a safe bet she can hook you up with some more than decent whiskey.
November 27th, 2007at 10:24 pm(#)
Having just had the distinct pleasure at Nopa of tasting San Francisco bartender extraordinaire Neyah White’s handmade grenadine, I can say that what comes out of a bottle now is not the same animal.
It was a revelation. A Ward Eight? A Jack Rose? Astonishing! It’s like I’d never had one before. He said even the humble Bacardi Cocktail now makes perfect sense.
So, don’t write off the recipe; you probably aren’t playing with the same tools it was written for.
May 27th, 2008at 11:06 am(#)
May I recommend Rittenhouse rye? It’s far less expensive than Sazerac and, by all accounts, superior in flavor. Imagine that!