A Remarkable Regional Malts Mix Up



Independent bottler Douglas Laing is never shy of trying out new things. They embraced both the social media posse within the whisky scene and don't stick to the old views on drinking whisky (no ice, no cocktails, no coke, only straight is good, only single malt is good,... you know the drill already). Time for a Remarkable Regional Malts Mix Up.


Global Ambassador Jan Beckers co-hosted a live tasting on Instagram featuring Timorous Beastie and Big Peat blended malts. The whole idea behind the tasting was to present the whisky side by side with a cocktail. Timorous Beastie was used in an Old Fashioned and Big Peat showcased its character in a Big Peat Smoky Sour.

We'll dive straight into the cocktails.

Timorous Beastie Old Fashioned

Ingredients

  • 1 rock sugar cube
  • 1 or 2 drops Angostura bitters
  • 5 cl Timorous Beastie
  • 1 slice of orange peel
  • 1 or 2 maraschino cherries

Preparation


Take a tumbler or an Old Fashioned glass which is basically a tumbler... Put the sugar cube in it and drizzle the Angostura bitter on the cube. Add a splash of Timorous Beastie and start muddling. Keep going until the sugar had dissolved completely. Add the rest of the whisky and muddle on. Fill the glass with ice cubes, add an optional splash of soda water and garnish with a slice of lemon peel and maraschino cherries.






I published an Old Fashioned recipe with Maker's Mark as main ingredient in January.

Big Peat's Smoky Sour

Ingredients

  • 2 cl sugar syrup
  • 2 cl lemon juice
  • a dash of powdered egg white or 1 egg white
  • 5 cl Big Peat
  • a sprig of mint
  • 2 drops Angostura bitters

Preparation

Take a jar with a lid or a cocktail shaker and fill it with lemon juice, sugar syrup, Big Peat two drops of Angostura bitters and an egg white. Screw the lid on the jar. Shake vigorously without ice until the mixture gets foamy. (Trivia Time: Bartenders call this a dry shake.) Then add ice cubes to the jar and shake again to cool the Smoky Sour. Garnish with a sprig of mint and/or a slice of lemon peel and drink it straight from the jar

If you used a cocktail shaker, you will want to use a Martini glass or something.

P.S. There's a rule of thumb to remember. If you use egg white in a cocktail, always shake without ice first.

I once wrote down my own version of a Big Peat's Islay Sour using maple syrup and omitting the egg white.



The folks at Douglas Laing have more cocktails up their sleeve with the other regional malts Scallywag (Manhattan), Epicurean (Horse's Beck) and Rock Oyster (Margarita). You might want to check their website for the professional Remarkable Regional Malts Mix Up recipes...

Image credits and whisky samples for the cocktails: Douglas Laing

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