Islay Old Fashioned
Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 32.3% ABV ∙
The Islay Old Fashioned is a stirred variation on the Old Fashioned made with peated single malt whisky, brown sugar syrup and Creole-style bitters. Smoky peat rolls across the palate first, cut by a deep molasses sweetness before a spiced bitters edge dries the finish — a slow, contemplative sipper.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir all ingredients with ice: Peated single malt whisky 75 mlBrown sugar syrup 10 mlCreole-style bitters 3 dashes
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Express a lemon twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- Stir over ice for a full 30 seconds or so; the peated whisky needs the dilution to soften its smoke without losing structure.
- Pre-chill the glass before straining in so the drink doesn't lose temperature the moment it hits the ice.
- Express the lemon twist directly over the surface right before serving — the oils fade fast and are strongest at first whiff.
- Warm the brown sugar syrup slightly if it has thickened in storage so it stirs in evenly instead of pooling at the bottom.
History
The Islay Old Fashioned was created in 2014 by a London-based drinks writer after a colleague named Eliot Cole described a memorable Old Fashioned made with Laphroaig at Hotel Delmano, a bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Prompted by that account, he made his own version, choosing Peychaud's-style bitters over the usual Angostura in a nod to writer David Embury's stated preference for pairing that bitters with whiskey.
The drink is a riff on the Old Fashioned, whose own origin is disputed among several claimants but which is generally dated to the early 19th century as a simple mix of spirit, sugar, and bitters. The Islay Old Fashioned's defining change is swapping in a peated single malt from Islay for the usual bourbon or rye, giving the drink a smoky, maritime edge.
