Whisky Foundation Picks: Our favourite summer whisky cocktails

Dear readers, we have a confession to make.

Brace yourselves.

On occasion, when the weather is hot, we treat ourselves to a couple of summer whisky cocktails.

Now, we know that to a lot of you, this is the ultimate sacrilege (‘Scotch should be drunk straight!’ we hear you cry.) but hear us out.

When the sun is beating down and the BBQ is out, we’re not in the mood for sipping a complex dram and picking up on the different notes on the nose and palate. We want something cold and refreshing.

But it seems a shame – when you fancy an alcoholic drink – to drink anything other than whisky, doesn’t it?

That’s why summer whisky cocktails are the answer – you still get all the things that make your favourite whisky great, but in a nice, refreshing cocktail.

(Plus, until the mid-1800s, Scotch was consumed in punches and cocktails anyway. So, you could say, we’re just being traditional…)

Not convinced?

Why not knock one of these three summer whisky cocktails up, and if you’re still not a fan of whisky cocktails, we’ll eat our hats.

Our Top Three Summer Whisky Cocktails 

Smoky Haze on Summer Days

Stuart McCluskey, one of Scotland’s leading mixologists (a fancy word for cocktail-maker), put together this absolute gem of a cocktail. We’ve tweaked it slightly for a Whisky Foundation twist, but it still maintains that smoky, gingery kick.

Ingredients:

2 oz Light, smoky Scotch whisky (this 5 Year Talisker (Kingsbury, 2008) is ideal)

1 oz Fresh lemon juice

1.5 oz Rhubarb, Ginger and Honey Syrup (This is easy to make: just take 3 bits of rhubarb, 2 slices of ginger and 2 oz of honey and bring to the boil. Simmer until the rhubarb breaks down. If it’s still a bit bitter, throw in some more honey, strain and cool.)

1 handful Summer berries

Decent ginger ale

Method:

Grab a highball glass and throw a decent handful of crushed ice in. Then add everything except the ginger ale and stir. Pour over a splash of ginger ale and add a slice of orange, a sprig of mint and some berries.

Then sit back, enjoy and try to tell yourself that you don’t like summer whisky cocktails…

Floral Old Fashioned 

 

A summery twist on the classic Old Fashioned, this cocktail is a great one to give to people new to Scotch – it’s still smoky, but with delicate touches.

Ingredients:

2 oz. Speyside single-malt Scotch (this 21-year Aberlour would work nicely)

1⁄2 oz. chamomile syrup (you can either buy this, or make it by boiling up chamomile flowers with sugar and water.)

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Edible flowers and/or lemon twist, to garnish

Method:

This one is so easy to make. Grab a shaker, throw in some ice, your Scotch of choice, the syrup and the bitters. Give it a stir and strain over ice in a rocks glass. Throw on your garnishes (if you can be bothered) and you’re done. As easy as that.

Summer Breeze 

If you’re not already singing The Isley Brothers – or should that be Islay Brothers – then this cocktail might not be the one for you.

Because it certainly does make you feel fine.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups raspberries

1 tablespoon sugar

6 ounces of your favourite Scotch (a slightly smoky whisky gives a neat twist)

6 ounces guava nectar or juice

1 1/2 ounces framboise

Ice

Chilled club soda

6 small mint leaves

Method:

Grab a cocktail shaker, muddle the raspberries with the sugar. Then, add your large glug of Scotch with the guava nectar and framboise. Fill the shaker with ice and give it a good shake.

Then, strain into a pitcher and pour into rocks glasses. Add mint and berries for decoration, then distribute among your friends.

Have you got go-to summer whisky cocktails? Or are you a dram-only purist, even beside the BBQ? However you drink your whisky in summer, we want to see.

Snap a picture, upload it Instagram with the hashtag #SunAndScotch and – if you’re one of the first 50 entrants – you’ll get $10 off your next bottle of whisky.