The Little Book of Whiskey Cocktails

Bryan Paiement

• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9780813195469
• eBook ISBN: 9780813195520
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Culinary Arts

The Little Book of Whiskey Cocktails sets out to share the stories of the whiskey-making world and recipes suitable for whiskey enthusiasts of all expertise levels. Bryan Paiement takes a practical approach to exploring the various ways in which the spirit can be mixed and enjoyed. Beginning with a brief history of whiskey, Paiement answers many questions that even aficionados can't help but stumble over: What is the difference between "whiskey" and "whisky"? Does bourbon have to come from Kentucky? How many times does Irish whiskey need to be distilled? Forty classic whiskey cocktail recipes and ten original recipes follow in this pocket-sized gift book. Each carefully curated recipe is introduced with details on the cocktail's origins and concludes with bartenders' tips for mixing the perfect concoction. Paiement includes award-winning recipes like the Paper Plane, time-tested classics like the Old Fashioned and the Rusty Nail, and handcrafted originals like the Scotch Smash.

Adorned with a key to whiskey ware and bar tools and an extensive repertoire of jokes, Paiement brings whiskey's terminology and mixology to any home bar.

OLD-FASHIONED

The cocktail known colloquially as the old-fashioned was actually a novel idea—adding bitters and sugar to whiskey. To many, this meant destroying the purity of the spirit. This cocktail broke with tradition at the time of its conception in the early nineteenth century, and it didn’t earn the name old-fashioned until decades later. In 1806, in an issue of “The Balance and Columbian Repository,” Harry Croswell answered a reader’s query from the previous week regarding the nature of a cocktail, which Croswell described as “a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters.” With the advent of imported liqueurs and more complex cocktails taking shape thanks to new modifiers, some bar patrons began to request their drinks “the old-fashioned way.” This plea for simplicity—spirit, sugar, bitters—developed into its own recipe and became what we know today as the old-fashioned.

The great debate seems to be whether to muddle fresh fruit or not, along with the choice of bourbon or rye whiskey. Personally, I prefer rye because it tends to be less sweet and adds a nice spice to the cocktail, but this is a matter of personal preference. There are, ironically, an astounding number of variations on this simplest of cocktails.

Old-Fashioned

2 oz. bourbon or rye whiskey

1 sugar cube (or 1 bar spoon simple syrup)

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Orange peel (garnish)

Muddle the sugar cube, bitters, and a bar spoon of water in the bottom of a rocks glass (omit the water if you’re using simple syrup). Add whiskey and 1 large ice cube and stir to chill (about 30 seconds). Garnish with orange peel.

MANHATTAN

The Manhattan is one of the most well known and revered vermouth cocktails. Prior to the Manhattan, which began circulating in the United States in the late nineteenth century, vermouth was not used as a modifier in cocktails. The drink’s origin is thought to be the Manhattan Club in New York, although the actual creator of the recipe is unclear. According to popular liquor lore, the cocktail was first served at a party thrown at the Manhattan Club by Winston Churchill’s mother, Lady Randolph Churchill. However, Lady Churchill was actually in England preparing for Winston’s birth at the time she was supposedly party planning in the Big Apple.

In any case, the Manhattan cocktail shines with its simplicity: bourbon or rye, vermouth, and bitters. It began life as a rye whiskey cocktail, but bourbon has become a respectable if not more popular substitute. Traditionally, the cocktail is stirred rather than shaken to maintain its silky smooth quality.

Manhattan

2 oz. rye or bourbon whiskey

1 oz. sweet vermouth

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Bordeaux Maraschino cherry (garnish)

Add ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir for 30 seconds to chill and dilute the cocktail. Using a julep strainer, strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a cherry.

WHISKEY SOUR

We have the British navy to thank for popularizing, and possibly inventing, the whiskey sour. Because beer tended to spoil during long sea voyages, rum, which was widely available in the Caribbean, was sailors’ chosen libation. Citrus fruits such as limes and lemons, which were brought aboard to prevent scurvy, were added to the rum to create what became known as grog (hence the warning: “One too many, and you’ll be groggy in the morning”).

The first recorded recipe for a sour appeared in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 book The Bartender’s Guide, which included recipes for gin, brandy, and rum sours. The whiskey sour appeared eight years later in the January 4, 1870, edition of a Wisconsin newspaper called the Waukesha Plain Dealer: “‘Then may God have mercy on your soul,’ says I, taking a drink out of me cousin’s glass. ‘Amen,’ says the Methodist, as he ordered another Whiskey Sour.”

The popularity of the sour exploded from the 1860s to the 1960s, especially as American whiskey moved in and took top billing. The simple list of ingredients—whiskey, citrus, sugar, and water—is deceiving, and the whiskey sour is often regarded as a test of both professional and home bartenders’ mastery of sweet-to-sour balance. Adding an egg white to a whiskey sour morphs it into a Boston sour, which I prefer for its velvety texture.

Whiskey Sour

2 oz. bourbon

¾ oz. fresh lemon juice

½ oz. simple syrup (¾ oz. for a less tart cocktail)

1 egg white

Bordeaux Maraschino cherries (garnish)

Add egg white to a mixing glass and dry-shake (no ice) for 20 seconds to emulsify. Add ice and remaining ingredients and shake well. Strain into a rocks glass with ice and garnish with cherries on a cocktail spear.

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Endorsements
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• A Brief Whiskey History
• Whiskey Glassware and Bar Tools
• Whiskey Cocktails
• A Note on the Recipes
• Recipe Index
• About the Author