For something a bit special for this romance season, high-end whisky brand Highland Park has a cocktail recipe featuring its Highland Park 12 expression, a 12 year old spicy, smoky Scotch made using the heathered peat of Orkney.
The drink, named after the islands of Orkney with a title of Rosemary Orcadian, combines flavors of tart cranberry and sweet orange liqueur with a sharp note of lime and the herbaceous addition of rosemary simple syrup.
It’s very easy to make such syrups at home, so don’t feel the need to go out and buy them. Instead, just take roughly equal parts of water and sugar by weight and heat together in a pan. Add in plenty of rosemary — the fresher the better, so if you have some growing in your garden then that’s ideal. Heat the ingredients together so that the sugar melts but not so hot that it starts to caramelize, and leave to infuse for around 10 minutes. Then leave the mixture to cool before straining out the rosemary. You’ll be left with a syrup that has sweetness plus the herbal kick of fresh rosemary.
Similarly, the addition of a burnt rosemary sprig as garnish will add to the herbal flavors and also bring out the smoky notes of the Scotch.
Rosemary Orcadian
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Highland Park 12
- 1 oz Cranberry juice
- 0.5 oz Orange liqueur
- 0.5 oz Fresh Lime
- 0.25 oz Rosemary simple syrup
- Garnish: Burnt rosemary sprig
Method:
Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Carefully burn a sprig of rosemary using a lighter and shake it to extinguish, then add as a garnish.
