3 Cocktails That Prove Whiskey Is a Summer Spirit, Too
(photo: Everett Collection; Chris Gorman (bottle))
Used to be that when the mercury climbed, it was time to put away the whiskey in favor of clear fare like vodka sodas and G&Ts. No longer. “People think spring and summer means lighter spirits,” says Kevin Diedrich, bar manager of San Francisco’s BDK Restaurant & Bar. “But the myth that you drink dark spirits only in the winter needs to be debunked.”
For starters, warm-weather whiskey options go far beyond juleps and sours. Today’s bartenders are using brighter, fresher ingredients (fruits, veggies, herbs) and often swapping in dark spirits for light ones. “There are countless ways to adapt cocktails to the season,” says Chad Phillips, head bartender at Pennyroyal in Seattle. “Drinkers these days are open-minded. When they see something unfamiliar, like a scotch cocktail, they want to try it.” Once they do, it’s apparent that the smokiness of single-malt, the spices in rye, and the subtle sweetness of bourbon translate brilliantly to the stretch from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Here are three to get you started.
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THE NEW OLD-FASHIONED
The Colonel
While Don Draper’s signature old fashioned conjures up images of dark midtown-Manhattan taverns, this remix is the “vacation version,” says Chris Brown, beverage manager at Cincinnati’s Metropole bar at the 21c Museum Hotel. Made with lighter Old Forester bourbon, Luxardo Maraschino-cherry liqueur, and an orange slice, orange bitters, and house-made orange liqueur, it “sells like crazy on our rooftop lounge,” Brown says.
TTHE NEW DARK AND STORMY
Three Summers Strong
“I love to drink scotch, but when it’s hot out, sometimes warm whisky doesn’t get the job done,” says Pennyroyal’s Phillips. “This is the perfect way to get your smoky fix.” Peaty Ardbeg Ten Years Old is an unlikely warm-weather choice, but Phillips evens it out with pineapple juice, peach liqueur, and ginger beer for an effervescent, rum-free riff on the Dark and Stormy, with “that scotch kick that people miss during the summer.”
THE NEW EASTSIDE
The Westside Connection
“I like basing cocktails on modern classics,” says John Richard Thomas Jackson, head bartender at Providence in L.A. For his take on the Eastside, Jackson ditches gin for 80-proof Templeton rye, trades lime for lemon, and muddles together edible marigolds, cucumber, and dill. The finished product shows off rye’s peppery, floral character, while the cucumber and lemon keep things light, perfect “to get the palate going,” says Jackson.
From DETAILS’ June/July 2015 issue By Carey Jones
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