One of the contemporary classics among whisky cocktails is the Penicillin by Sam Ross. This is where ginger meets whisky and acidity. The drink was created in 2004 in the legendary New York bar Milk and Honey and was a further development of the already successful drink Gold Rush from the same bar. The Gold Rush is a whiskey sour with honey instead of sugar. Sam Ross then simply swapped the bourbon for Scotch. The large proportion of blended Scotch in the Penicillin cocktail is complemented by a small proportion of smoky Islay Scotch. Sam Ross originally used the whiskies from the Compass Box for the Penicillin cocktail. The Peat Monster gives the drink its smoky flavour. However, other Scotch whiskies also work here. For example, single malts from the island of Islay or blended malts with a high peat whisky content.

Penicillin cocktail recipe

5 cl Blended Scotch

1 cl Peaty whisky

2 cl honey-ginger syrup

2 cl lemon juice

Place all the ingredients except the peaty whisky in a shaker and shake vigorously. Then pour into a tumbler filled with ice. Add the peaty whisky and garnish with a piece of candied ginger.