Mixology Monday: Dram Positive

It's Mixology Monday again! This month's challenge is hosted by Fred Yarm of Cocktail Virgin Slut and the theme is mashups. The idea is to take two cocktails and combine them into one. It was a bit challenging! I played around with a lot of different ideas. Since I just featured Drambuie on the blog last week, the Rusty Nail was still fresh in my mind. I thought it would be a good candidate for a mashup cocktail because its recipe is so simple - just Scotch and Drambuie.

I decided to combine the Rusty Nail with the Penicillin, another Scotch cocktail. I haven't featured the Penicillin on the blog yet, but I really should. It's a spectacular cocktail, one that could definitely be considered a "new classic." It was created by Sam Ross, formerly of Milk & Honey and now at Attaboy in the Lower East Side. It's a mixture of blended Scotch, lemon juice, honey-ginger syrup, and a float of peaty single malt. Since Drambuie has a Scotch base and strong honey flavors, I thought it would be perfect. I stuck to a ginger simple syrup and let the Drambuie bring the honey notes itself.

You'll have to forgive this cocktail's name, but I just couldn't resist. Sir Alexander Fleming (who was Scottish, by the way) discovered penicillin when a colony of Penicillium mold contaminated a plate of Staphylococcus in his lab, inhibiting its growth. Staph is a gram-positive bacteria. This cocktail is a Penicillin with Drambuie, so... Dram Positive!

I'll just see myself out.

Dram Positive

1 1/2 oz. blended Scotch (I used Famous Grouse)
1/2 oz. Drambuie
3/4 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. ginger syrup*
1/4 oz. Lagavulin or other peaty Scotch

Combine blended Scotch, Drambuie, lemon juice, and ginger syrup in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into an old fashioned glass over one large ice cube. Float the Lagavulin on top by gently pouring it over the back of a spoon. Garnish with candied ginger.

*For ginger syrup, peel and slice a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger. Bring equal parts sugar and water to a simmer in a saucepan and add the ginger. Let simmer for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely and strain.