Bristow Penicillin

 

I plan on doing a few variations on the Penicillin, a smokey whiskey cocktail that resembles a ginger and smoke Whiskey Sour. My first of these variations is made with MurLarkey Smokehouse whiskey. The raw spirit of this whiskey is a craft corn and malted barley mash with a lot of intense flavor by itself. It is later aged in oak that has been smoked with bacon! While the result is very far from scotch, Smokehouse is a Virginia whiskey with savory notes that are reminiscent of peat smoke.

The other fun ingredient in this cocktail (besides the unsmoked whiskey base) is my homemade ginger liqueur. This is an aged brandy ginger spirit with brown sugar, closer in flavor to King's Ginger liqueur than Domaine de Canton. This is the spice component that mixes well with the lemon juice and honey in the sour. For the whiskey base, use any American whiskey or bourbon you have on hand so long as it is mellow and won't overpower the cocktail. 

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon or American whiskey
• 1/2 oz. ginger liqueur (homemade used)
• 1/3 oz. MurLarkey Smokehouse whiskey
• 2/3 oz. lemon juice
• 2/3 oz. honey syrup
• piece of candied ginger

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass with large ice cubes. Spear the piece of ginger and use as garnish.