Skip to main content

Celebrate National Scotch Day with these Whisky Cocktails

Happy National Scotch Day! As you probably know, this brown spirit is a malt or grain whisky made in Scotland and aged in oak barrels for at least three years. Whether you’re a single malt or blend type of guy, this is the day to drink this smokey libation. As with any day celebrating the consumption of spirits, we here at The Manual like to honor the occasion by sipping on a strong cocktail. So we asked some of our favorite scotch brands to send their best recipes so you can play mixologist at home.

Curious Scotsman
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Curious Scotsman
By Brandon Lockman of Red Star Tavern
Ingredients:
2 oz Monkey Shoulder scotch
1 oz Punt e Mes sweet vermouth
1 bar spoon Giffard crème du Banane liqueur
2 dash chocolate bitters

Method:
Stir in a mixing glass until chilled. Strain into a Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with two brandied cherries.

godfather sour, national scotch day, scotch, whiskyMonkey Shoulder Godfather Sour
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Monkey Shoulder Whisky
3/4 oz Amaretto liqueur
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz egg white (optional)

Method:
Add ingredients to shaker, shake well and strain into glass.

 

national scotch day, scotch, scotch whisky, <a href=drinks, cutty sark pear cooler" width="620" height="396" />Cutty Sark Pear Cooler
Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition
1/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz honey
2 oz ginger beer
1/8th of a ripe pear

Method:
In a shaker, muddle the pear with honey and lemon. Add the whisky and shake. Double strain over fresh ice into a Collins glass. Top with ginger beer and garnish with a pear slice.

old-fashioned, drink, whisky, national scotch day, scotch whiskyDEWAR’S Old Fashioned
Ingredients:
1 part Dewar’s® White Label® Blended Scotch Whisky
1 teaspoon sugar
2 dashes bitters
2 orange slices
2 maraschino cherries
Water or soda

Method:
Place the sugar, bitters, 1 orange slice and 1 cherry in the bottom of a rocks glass. Add DEWAR’S, ice and stir. Garnish with the remaining orange slice and cherry.

The Thai Scotsman
From Hakkasan in New York City
Ingredients:
2 oz Chivas 12 Year
.5 oz lemongrass syrup
4 dashes of plum bitters
Orange zest

Method:
Build the cocktail in a Boston or coupe glass with ice. Stir. Garnish with a lemongrass stick if desired.

This post was originally published 7/27/2014 and updated 7/26/2016 by Chase McPeak.

Editors' Recommendations

Amanda Gabriele
Amanda Gabriele is a food and travel writer at The Manual and the former senior editor at Supercall. She can’t live without…
The Best Blended Scotch Whiskies to Add to Your Collection
Blended Scotch

Single malt scotch gets all the love, but the reality is that blends are what the people really want. The best-selling Scotch whiskies fall into the latter category, with familiar names like Johnnie Walker, Grant's, and Chivas leading the pack. Blends are often cheaper than single malts, although that is not the case when you get into the higher-end expressions. The difference is that while a single malt is a 100 percent malted barley whisky that comes from one distillery, a blended scotch is a marriage of whisky from different distilleries that also includes grain whisky, usually made from corn or wheat. A blended malt, however, is a blend of malt whisky from different distilleries minus the grain whisky. There are many good examples of blended scotch to choose from, and some new expressions are now available from well-known brands. Here are eight blends that you should try now.
Dewar’s

Dewar's touts its whisky as being "double aged," meaning that after initial maturation and blending the blend is put into an oak cask for another six months to marry the whiskies together before bottling (other brands use a similar process). The blend consists of grain whisky and single malts drawing from the Dewar's portfolio (Aberfeldy, Aultmore, Craigellachie, Royal Brackla, and Deveron), among others. Dewar's White Label is a very popular whisky here in the U.S., but try the age statement blends (12, 15, 18) for something a bit more complex and rich.
Johnnie Walker

Read more
9 Cocktails Recipes to Mix Up for National Rum Day
make your banana stand

Rum has a storied and fascinating history. Did you know, for example, that the first distillations of rum in the Caribbean date back to the 1600s, though there were other beverages made from sugar cane that have roots even older than that? No, you didn't, did you? That's great, because that means you learned something! And what's more fun than learning? Making drinks!

Today, August 16, is National Rum Day, which means it’s time for everyone to get imbued with a little bit of sugarcane-based spirit. What was once primarily the domain of Caribbean-based distilleries, the rum category has exploded as distilleries from all around the world are getting in on the rum game (and for that, we are #blessed.)

Read more
Celebrate National Tequila Day with these Awesome Agave Cocktail Recipes
Mule's Hind Leg

Another day, another boozy holiday. This time around, we come once again to everyone’s favorite agave-based holiday, National Tequila Day. Not to be confused with National Margarita Day or any other such day, National Tequila Day allows us to expand our palates when it comes to what can go with tequila. Turns out, tequila makes pretty much everything better.

Below, you can find some of the best tequila cocktail recipes you can whip up to celebrate the day. Busy because it’s a weekday? We won’t tell if you wait until the weekend to try these beauties out.

Read more