The Artist’s Special
This bright pink riff on a whisky sour was credited with being the ‘Ink of Inspiration’ and a favourite of the bohemian artist set in 1920s Paris, so transport yourself to the Moulin Rouge with this refreshing yet complex tipple.
Ingredients
30ml (1oz) blended Scotch
30ml (1oz) oloroso sherry
15ml (1/2oz) fresh lemon juice
15ml (1/2oz) redcurrant syrup* or grenadine or raspberry syrup
Lemon twist to garnish
Equipment
A jigger
Shaker tins
Ice
A hawthorn strainer
A fine strainer
A coupe glass
Method
Prepare your twist.
Add all of your ingredients to your shaker tin, pack full of ice and shake as hard as you can.
Double strain (use your hawthorn strainer to hold the ice back in the tin and pour through the fine strainer).
Fold the twist over the top of you drink to expel the citrus oils, add the garnish to your cocktail, and enjoy!
*redcurrant syrup recipe from Talia Baiocchi ‘Sherry’:
1 cup redcurrants
¼ cup raspberries
1 ¼ cups sugar
200ml (7oz) boiling water
Muddle raspberries and redcurrants and let stand at room temperature overnight. Add sugar and boiling water and stir to combine. Let cool, and finely strain.
The original recipe calls for redcurrant syrup, and it does bring an amazing tartness to the drink but redcurrants aren’t always available, so it can definitely be substituted with good quality or home-made grenadine or raspberry syrup if that’s what you have to hand- just make sure it’s a nice bright syrup.
Suggested Spirits
We like this cocktail with an edge of smoke to it, so we’r using Johnnie Walker Black Label, but if peat isn’t your think then you can absolutely use whichever whisky you like. Just try and keep it on the lighter side of things, so blends tend to work better than single malts.
Oloroso sherry is the richest of the dry sherries as it is aged entirely oxidatively, meaning it develops lots of nut, dried fruit and spice characters. This means it can hold its own against the Scotch, even if it is a little smoky, and also works well with the fresh fruit flavours from the syrup. This is truly one of the most complex, citrus forward drinks I have ever had because of all of these layers of flavour. An absolute winner in my eyes!
