Recipe: How to mix a Rob Roy cocktail
Craigie on Main's Jared Sadoian shares a cocktail recipe that's "similar to the Manhattan while having a very distinct flavor profile."
Related Links
Stirred and strong. That’s how I was introduced to the Rob Roy early in my drinking career, seated at a bar in Boston.
Incidentally, it was my first introduction to Scotch whisky in cocktails as well — what a divine combination! To be so similar to the Manhattan while having a very distinct flavor profile was as fascinating as it was delicious. This cocktail predates the 20th century, created by a Waldorf Hotel bartender on the occasion of the New York premiere of the operetta “Rob Roy” in 1894. The reddish color of the drink to imitate the color of protagonist Robert Roy MacGregor, perhaps.
I personally recommend not choosing between either a dark, high quality maraschino cherry or the expressed oils from an orange peel — use both!
Scotch whisky is often thought of as a “sipping spirit,” best enjoyed without adulteration in a quiet, contemplative setting. That’s true, sure, but it’s also a rockstar ingredient in a lot of different cocktails, both stirred and strong like the Rob Roy, and citrus-driven and refreshing.
From Sam Ross’ quintessential Penicillin or Meaghan Dorman’s Wildest Redhead, there is a lot you can do with the spirit. Great Scotch for cocktails has a really nice fruit-forward flavor over the grain and wood, offering a nice balance that plays well with the acidity from citrus juice (go with lemon!) or aromatized wines like vermouth and the like.
What you’ll need
•
Rob Roy cocktail ingredients (below)
• Garnish ingredients
• Glass or other vessel large enough to mix the drink (at least 12-16 oz.)
• 1 oz. and 2 oz. jigger, or a ¼ cup and tablespoon measure
• Bar spoon or chopstick
• Cocktail strainer (Julep or Hawthorne)
• Ice
• Cocktail glass or rocks glass
• Vegetable peeler or sharp kitchen knife (for orange peel garnish)
Rob Roy
2 oz. blended Scotch
1 oz. sweet vermouth
Dash of angostura bitters
Add all cocktail ingredients to a mixing glass.
Fill glass with ice and stir with a bar spoon or chopstick until mixed and well-chilled (about 45-60 seconds).
Strain into a cocktail glass or on the rocks.
Garnish with a maraschino cherry, the expressed oils from an orange peel, or both!
Join our next virtual cocktail class
Join us Thursday, March 25 at 7 p.m. with host Jackson Cannon and his special guest Jared Sadoian, general manager of Craigie on Main in Cambridge. This week they’ll be making cocktails with Scotch whisky, catching up about the Boston restaurant and bar scene, and sharing tips the pros use to make great drinks at home. They’ll be mixing the classic Rob Roy and Blood and Sand. Everything you’ll need is listed here with a link to purchase your Boston.com Cocktail Club Scotch Whisky kit through Gordon’s Fine Wine and Spirits.
Jared Sadoian is the general manager of Craigie on Main in Cambridge and former assistant bar director of now-shuttered cocktail lounge, The Hawthorne, and its sister restaurant, Eastern Standard.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com