Luck be a Lady
I created this cocktail a few months ago when I was looking for something to pair with a cigar. I love to smoke a bold cigar and a lot of cocktails don't hold up against a bold cigar. Or if they do then they overpower the more delicate flavors in the cigar. This one seems to balance really nicely. It's definitely a favorite of my cigar smoking friends.
The Bigallet China-China is one of my favorite amari. It's a french bitter orange liqueur. I like to describe it as the love child of Jägermeister and Grand Marnier. I can't actually get it in Arizona so I have friends who bring it over for me from California. I could have it shipped but it's more fun to have it it "bootlegged" in exchange for cocktails.
This recipe utilizes one of my favorite hacks which is to spritz a peaty scotch over the top. It's easier than rinsing the glass and with less waste. Lagavulin 16 is around $85 a bottle so it's not an inexpensive ingredient. I have found that even people who don't love the taste of peat enjoy the smell and it's a great mechanism to introduce people to Islay scotches in a way that's very approachable.
This drink reminds me of smoke filled back rooms, and poker games, well dressed gentlemen, and diamond draped ladies. Luck be a Lady seemed to suit the temperament.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Rye Whiskey (I use Highwest Double Rye)
- 3/4 oz Bigallet China-China
- 1/2 oz Rich Demerera syrup (2:1 ratio raw sugar to water)
- 2 dashes Fee Brothers Aztec (or any chocolate) bitters
- 1/4 oz Lagavulin 16 scotch to rinse (or a spritzer)
Spritz an empty highball glass with the scotch. Or pour in the 1/4 oz and rinse the glass carefully coating it all. Put a large ice sphere or block in the glass to temper while you make the drink.
Put the rest of the ingredients in a cocktail mixing glass with ice and stir to chill thoroughly. Pour carefully over the ice sphere. Taking care to not rinse off the sides of the glass. Finish the cocktail with another spritz of the scotch across the top and enjoy with a fine cigar. My recommendation would the LFD La Nox or the Oliva V Melanio.
