Penicillin Cocktail Recipe

Before you start

The Penicillin is a whisky sour with two twists: the sweetener is a honey syrup sharpened with fresh ginger, and a small float of smoky Islay Scotch sits on top. The blended Scotch base is mellow enough to carry the lemon and ginger, while the peat on the surface hits the nose first, so every sip starts smoky and finishes spicy and bright.

The syrup is where the drink is won or lost. Bottled ginger syrups are usually too sweet and too mild. Making your own from fresh ginger juice and honey takes about 15 minutes and gives the drink its signature heat. Float the peated whisky gently over the back of a spoon so it stays on top instead of mixing in.

Ingredients

• Honey-ginger syrup120 g (⅓ cup) honey
• 60 ml (¼ cup) hot water
• 60 ml (¼ cup) fresh ginger juice — from about 100 g (3½ oz) peeled ginger, grated and squeezed
• Cocktail60 ml (2 oz) blended Scotch whisky
• 22 ml (¾ oz) fresh lemon juice
• 22 ml (¾ oz) honey-ginger syrup
• 7 ml (¼ oz) peated Islay Scotch — for the float
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for shaking, plus 1 large cube to serve
• 1 piece candied ginger — optional garnish

Method

1. Make the syrup: grate the peeled ginger finely and squeeze it through a fine strainer or cheesecloth to collect 60 ml of juice. Discard the fibers.
2. Warm the honey and hot water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring just until the honey dissolves, about 2 minutes. Do not boil it.
3. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the ginger juice. Pour into a clean jar and let it cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, then refrigerate.
4. Build the drink: add the blended Scotch, lemon juice and 22 ml of the cooled syrup to the shaker. Fill two-thirds with ice and shake hard for 10 seconds.
5. Strain over one large ice cube in a chilled rocks glass.
6. Hold a bar spoon just above the surface, back side up, and pour the Islay Scotch slowly over it so it floats on top. Garnish with candied ginger on a pick.

Tips for success

• Taste the syrup before using it. It should burn slightly on the tongue; if it is mild, your ginger was old or the juice was diluted.
• A ginger juicer or a blender with a splash of water followed by straining also works, but measure the final juice so the syrup ratio stays the same.
• Do not stir after floating the Islay whisky. The point is to smell smoke first and taste the sour underneath.

Substitutions

Honey-ginger syrup

Use 15 ml honey syrup (1:1) plus 2 thin slices of fresh ginger muddled in the shaker. It works, but the ginger is milder and less even.

Peated Islay Scotch

Any heavily peated whisky works. Mezcal makes an unorthodox but tasty smoky float. Without any float, the drink is a pleasant honey-ginger whisky sour.

Blended Scotch

A light Speyside single malt is richer and fruitier. Bourbon makes a sweeter, vanilla-led drink that loses the Scotch character.

Variations

Smoky Penicillin up

Shake as usual and strain into a chilled coupe, then add a few drops of Islay whisky from a dropper across the surface.

Spiced Penicillin

Steep 1 cinnamon stick in the warm honey syrup for 15 minutes before adding the ginger juice.

Troubleshooting

The syrup crystallized in the fridge

Honey can crystallize when cold. Set the jar in warm water for a few minutes and stir until clear.

The float sank and mixed in

It was poured too fast or from too high. Pour over the back of a spoon, very slowly, just above the drink.

The drink is too sweet

Honey varies in sweetness. Drop the syrup to 15 ml or add 5 ml more lemon.

Storage

Serve the drink right away. Refrigerate the honey-ginger syrup in a clean, sealed jar and use it within about 2 weeks; the ginger fades over time. Discard it if it turns cloudy, smells fermented or shows mold.

Safety notes

Holds about 67 ml of 40% ABV whisky in total, about 1.5 U.S. standard drinks (one standard drink is about 14 g of pure alcohol). Only for adults of legal drinking age. Do not drink and drive.