Gold Pal
I’m not as familiar with Irish whisky as other styles, but I must say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the bottle that @mcconnellsirishwhisky kindly gifted me. It may be lacking an “e” but it’s not short on rich flavors of honey, malted grain, almond, and vanilla. It’s certainly more delicate than some other styles, which is not a bad thing, but it takes a different approach to fully honor and appreciative the spirit in a cocktail.
This drink attempts to do that with a riff on the classic cocktail, the Old Pal (see what I did there? ⭐️🥇🌟), which contains rye whiskey, dry vermouth, and Campari. The Campari would overpower the whisky, so instead I switched to Suze (and also decreased the relative amount). The dry vermouth stayed the same, but the drink still needed a bit of sweetness. Here's where the fun begins, choose-your-own adventure style (anyone else love those books as a kid??).
- For a tropical twist, use 0.25oz passionfruit syrup (I used @liberandco). Suze and passionfruit are a great pair, and the whisky backbone is surprisingly perfect here. This one was my favorite.
- For a more herbal-forward take, use >0.25oz yellow chartreuse. The Suze definitely gets more love with this build, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
- For a slightly earthier take, use 0.25oz spicy turmeric syrup (I used a delicious one gifted by @barefootbotanicals). The earthy gentian root shines here and there is just a touch of spice at the end.
I don't normally make one drink this many times, so that should speak volumes to how much I enjoyed the whisky and these cocktails. While each was very different, they were all on the lighter and more refreshing side.
Recipe
1.75oz Irish whisky (@mcconnellsirishwhisky, gifted)
0.5oz Suze (@suzeofficial)
~0.25oz of gold-colored syrups (see above)
>0.5oz dry vermouth (@vermouthdolin)
Stirred, strained over a big cube of #clearice (@truecubes, gifted), garnished with a lemon coin. And chocolate coins, which are a tasty snack alongside it. Cheers!!
