A Manhattan made with Scotch whisky instead of American.
Why you are pouring this tonight
The Rob Roy is the Manhattan made with Scotch instead of rye, named after a 1894 Broadway show about the eighteenth-century Scottish folk hero, which is the kind of provenance American cocktail writers love and almost everyone else has forgotten. Blended Scotch, sweet vermouth, three dashes of Angostura, expressed lemon peel. Smokier than a Manhattan, drier than a Manhattan, and arguably a better drink on a winter evening.
Use a blended Scotch, not single malt. Famous Grouse, Monkey Shoulder, or Johnnie Walker Black. Single malt is wasted in a stirred cocktail; the cocktail flattens the nuance. Carpano Antica for the sweet vermouth. Stir for forty seconds in a mixing glass with cold ice, strain into a chilled coupe, expressed lemon peel, two cherries on a pick. Pair with smoked salmon, smoked oysters, anything that has spent time near peat or fire.
What changes from the Manhattan
Rye out, blended Scotch in.
What to pour it alongside
Aged cheddar, smoked salmon, a cured meat plate.
The recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Stir all ingredients with ice for 20-30 seconds.
- Strain into a chilled coupe.
- Drop in a maraschino cherry.
Nutrition
Want the classic? Our Manhattan recipe is here.
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