Penicillin Cocktail

Fresh ginger and a float of extra-smoky Scotch lend complexity to this modern riff on a whiskey sour.

The Arnaud's Special

With the advance of autumn, it's time to break out the dark-spirit drinks suitable to the cooler seasons. The Arnaud's Special is a close cousin to the Rob Roy, and was the house cocktail for Arnaud's Restaurant in New Orleans during the 1940s and '50s.

Frozen Blood and Sand Cocktail

Scotch in a blended drink? Yes! Try this smoky, fruity, and spicy frozen cocktail at your next cookout.

The Highball

Short of simply popping open a beer or a straight slug of whiskey, there are few drinks that are less labor-intensive than the venerable highball. With Labor Day this weekend, we figured this was the perfect drink to share. You could reasonably ask the question, "Do we really need a recipe for something so easy?" but while this simple (and flexible) mix of booze, bubbles and ice can be prepared with almost zero thought, a little care in the execution can make all the difference between a watery ...

John McCarthy's Scotch Regency Punch

Cardamom meets lemon, Black Grouse, and soda for what's a essentially a scotch Tom Collins against a cardamom backdrop.

Gramercy Tavern's Goodfellow

This simple-looking cocktail from Gramercy Tavern's fall lineup boasts a surprisingly complex flavor profile. The elegantly layered drink mixes belly-warming Scotch with slightly sweet pear liqueur, plus nutty walnut liqueur and Oloroso sherry.

MacKinnon

The base for the drink is Drambuie, the Scottish herbal honey-and-whisky liqueur, but before you write it off as too sweet, look at the citrus and soda--that will tone down the sugar a few notches. Plus, there's a slider of rum to help level out flavor, and to bring the horsepower up to the necessary level.

Modern Cocktail No. 2

The Modern Cocktail No. 2 shows how wonderfully blended scotch can work in a cocktail. As written in the Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930, the Modern #2 matches the smooth richness of blended scotch with the sharp tang of sloe gin, with dashes of absinthe, grenadine and bitters lending additional complexity.

The Jacobean

McCarthy's take on a Manhattan makes use of green chartreuse; "The Jacobeans always sided with the French, so my chartreuse drink is named for them." AnCnoc is stirred with Carpano Antica ("the more savory of the sweet vermouths"), a half-ounce of green chartreuse, and a good measure of ice.

Blood and Sand

Scotch, orange, and sweet vermouth: An unlikely-sounding trio that come together flawlessly.