Cooking Lesson #603: The Penicillin Cocktail

…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? It’s the weekend before the tax filing deadline of 4/18/23, and we thought you might need a little medicine for the pain. Just don’t drink while you’re calculating.
 
Bartenders are some of the most creative people in the restaurant business. At The Customs House Restaurants in Northern California we had some of the most inventive bartenders who always tried to outdo each other by coming up with novel cocktails.
 
Crash was one of my best and he and another couple of barkeeps, kept us ahead of the cocktail curve. That was what I expected so it’s always interesting when I see great, innovative cocktails being develop by today’s generation of mixologists.
 
The Penicillin Cocktail is just one of those drinks. It was created by Sam Ross in the mid-2000s, when he was working at New York City’s famous Milk & Honey bar. The drink quickly gained a foothold as a modern-classic cocktail. It’s now served around the world, proving its status as one of the 21st century’s biggest cocktail success stories so far this century.

It’s a riff on the Gold Rush, another Milk & Honey original, featuring bourbon, lemon juice and honey. He skipped the bourbon and instead opted to mix blended scotch with fresh lemon and a homemade honey-ginger syrup, adding sweetness and the herbaceous bite of ginger. Ross then added a float of peaty scotch from Islay, an island known for producing smoky whiskies.
 
The blended scotch, lemon and sweetened ginger syrup create balance in the drink, similar to what you’ll find in a Whiskey Sour. The Penicillin is sweet, tart, spicy and delicious, garnished with candied ginger. But that topper of Islay scotch is the genius behind the cocktail, keeping the spirit’s smoky aromatics front and center with each sip.
 
Ingredients 
2 ounces blended scotch
3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 ounce honey-ginger syrup (recipe is in the ChefSecrets below)*
1/4 ounce Islay single malt scotch
Garnish: candied ginger
 
Directions

1. Add the blended scotch, lemon juice and syrup to a shaker with ice, and shake until well-chilled; about 20 seconds.
2. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
3. Float with the Islay single malt scotch.
4. Garnish with a piece of candied ginger.

ChefSecret:  To make honey-ginger syrup combine 1 cup honey, 1 6-inch piece of peeled and thinly sliced ginger and 1 cup water in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 5 minutes. Place in the refrigerator to steep overnight. Strain with cheesecloth.

Quip of the Day:  What is the best way to maintain a balanced diet? A cocktail in each hand. Who doesn’t love double-fisting a good cocktail?
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America and/or American Red Cross.
 
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