Tag: The Bottle Club

Eight Cocktail and Food Recipes Perfect For Burns Night

Whisky is often enjoyed neat or on the rocks, but cocktails aren’t just for Gin, Rum or Vodka. 

With a breadth of flavour combinations, it’s time to make Whisky the star of your cocktail bar. Even if the spirit isn’t your go-to tipple, there are plenty of flavours to explore that will tickle your taste buds. 

As you raise a toast to Robert Burns, you want to honour him with the good stuff. The team at drinks retailer Bottle Club have compiled their most popular scotch whisky cocktails, along with recipes for you to try at home.

Popular Scotch Whisky Cocktails:

Robert Burns Cocktail

The Robert Burns is one of the classic cocktails that pays tribute to another of Scotland’s finest exports. 

The drink itself is a delightful, sophisticated mix that builds on the scotch-vermouth combination of Rob Roy. The addition of absinthe brings in a nice contrasting flavour, though be sure to keep this accent to a dash, as it can easily overpower the drink. 

If absinthe is a bit too much for your taste, there is a variation called the Bobby Burns which omits absinthe for Bénédictine. 

It is a Scottish tradition to celebrate the poet Burns’ birthday on January 25th of each year, and whether this drink was named for him or not, it is a fantastic choice for the evening’s libation.

Ingredients- 1 serving

  • 60ml Scotch Whisky
  • 20 ml Sweet Vermouth
  • Dash Orange Bitters
  • Dash Absinthe 

Method:

Add ingredients into a mixing glass with ice, then stir well and strain into a tumbler. Ice and orange twist optional. If you do not have absinthe, try an anise-flavoured liqueur as a substitute.

Rusty Nail Cocktail

The Rusty Nail is the ultimate Scotch cocktail. It’s a very simple mix of scotch and Drambuie that is served on the rocks. This is designed to be a sophisticated, slow-sipping drink, and it’s excellent after dinner.

Feel free to switch from blended to single malts and explore various brands, choosing a variety that is as top-shelf as you wish. You may also want to adjust the ratio of the two spirits to fit your taste, as well as the type of whisky you’re pouring at the moment.

Ingredients- 1 serving

  • 45 ml Scotch Whisky 
  • 20 ml Drambuie

Method:

Simply combine the liquids into a mixing glass and stir well before pouring over ice into a tumbler. 

The Rob Roy 

The Rob Roy cocktail was named after an operetta that narrated the story of a great Scottish folk hero who supported the poor. 

Image: Pexels

A Scotch version of the classic Manhattan cocktail, a Rob Roy replaces bourbon or rye whisky with Scotch. The Rob Roy ingredients are also similar to that of a classic Old Fashioned, but the Rob Roy recipe uses sweet vermouth instead of sugar syrup for a richer flavour.

Best served by putting the cocktail glass in the freezer to ensure the Rob Roy stays cold, as the drink is served without ice. Stirring a Rob Roy cocktail rather than shaking is critical in delicate cocktails with few ingredients, so not to over dilute the drink.

Ingredients- 1 serving

  • 60ml Scotch Whisky 
  • 25ml Sweet Vermouth
  • Dash Angostura Bitters
  • Cherry (Garnish) 

Method:

Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice (minus the garnish) and stir well before straining into a cold Nick and Nora or Martini glass. Garnish with a cherry. 

Hot Toddy

A good Toddy has been said to jump-start mornings, cure colds and play furnace on a frigid evening. Many people believe that its first use was as a medicinal aid, as liquor was known to numb pain, while citrus and sugar (or honey) could soothe a sore throat.

Image: Millennial Magazine

This recipe comes from San Francisco bartender Jacques Bezuidenhout and features whiskey, hot water, demerara sugar and a clove-studded lemon peel. Fortunately, the Toddy is very easy to make. 

Grab your favourite mug, and heat it with some boiling water, similar to how you chill a Martini glass. After a minute or two, throw away the water, and build your drink in the same mug by combining your spirit with sugar and more hot water.

Ingredients- 1 serving

  • 4 Cloves
  • 1 Lemon Peel 
  • 2 TSP Demerara Sugar
  • ¼ Ounce / 8ml  Lemon Juice 
  • 2 Ounces / 60ml Whisky 

Method:

Grab your favourite mug and heat it with some boiling water. After a minute or two, throw away the water and build your drink in the same mug by combining your spirit with sugar, lemon juice and peel, cloves and more hot water.

Ruby Queen

The Ruby Queen recipe was developed by Rob Krueger of Extra Fancy in New York City. 

Though it is filled with a couple of unusual ingredients, the Ruby Queen is quite easy to mix up. You will need to prepare or acquire fresh beet juice and take a few minutes to make a fresh honey syrup.

                         Image: Pinterest

It’s a surprise when you taste just how well scotch works against this sweetened vegetable profile, whilst most of us will prefer a more neutral spirit for such a distinct flavour like beets, the whisky adds a depth that vodka and gin cannot.

Simply pour and shake like any other drink and you will have a savoury drink that will rival any Bloody Mary.

Ingredients- 1 serving

  • 1 ½ Ounces / 45ml Scotch Whisky 
  • 1 Ounce  / 30ml Fresh Red Beetroot Juice
  • ¾ Ounce / 25ml  Honey Syrup 
  • ¾ Ounce  /  25ml Fresh Lemon Juice
  • Fresh Dill or Tarragon (Garnish) 
  • Lemon Twist (Garnish) 

Method:

Combine everything except the garnish into a shaker with ice, shake for 30 seconds, then strain and pour into all tall, high-ball style glass. pour and shake like any other drink and you will have a savoury drink that will rival any Bloody Mary.

Burns Night Recipes

Cranachan

Scotland has a wonderful relationship with desserts and none more so, or more traditional, than with Scottish cranachan. A cranachan is a very quick, easy recipe that includes oats, raspberries, cream, malt whisky, and honey; the ingredients are then layered for a pretty presentation. It’s a festive sweet that is perfect to round off a Burns’ Night supper beautifully.

Ingredients- 6 servings

  • 2 ounces/55 grams steel-cut oatmeal (or pinhead oatmeal)
  • 8 ounces/250 grams fresh raspberries (Scottish if possible), divided
  • 1 pint /475 ml double cream
  • 3 tablespoons malt whisky (good quality)
  • Optional: 1 tablespoon honey or Scottish honey (plus more for serving)

Method:

  • Gather the ingredients and heat a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan until hot. Add the oats and, while stirring, toast until they have a light, nutty smell and are only just beginning to change colour. 
  • Once toasted remove from the pan. Crush your raspberries in a food processor or using a fork, then in a separate bowl whip the cream along with the whisky and fold in the honey and the oats. 
  • To finish, layer the dessert into either a large glass trifle bowl or individual serving glasses, starting with either a layer of the cream or raspberries and finishing with a layer of the cream.

NOTE: Many recipes suggest a malt Whisky, and good quality – a few recipes have specifically specified Glenfiddich or Glenlivet.

Tips for cooking with whisky: “Many chefs compare using whisky to using salt, as it brings out the flavor of the food. During cooking, the evaporation of the alcohol concentrates the barley malt and then caramelizes sugars in the spirit” 

Whisky Sauce

Whisky sauce for haggis. It’s a no-brainer, right? Two of Scotland’s finest products paired together in a delicious meal! Of course, this whisky sauce can also be a great accompaniment to other meats like steak or chicken, or even a nut roast.

Ingredients- 2 servings

  • 3-4 Tbsp Whisky
  • 100ml Double Cream 
  • 50ml Stock
  • Knob of Butter
  • 1 Tsp Dijon Mustard 

Method:

-Heat the fry pan/pot to medium and add the knob of butter and melt and add 3 tbsp of your choice of whisky then light the whisky with the lighter and allow it to burn off the alcohol. This makes the sauce less bitter. 

– Add the cream, stock, and mustard to the pan once the flame is out. Allow to thicken and reduce while continuing to stir then add salt and pepper to taste 

-If you would like a stronger whisky taste then you can add another tablespoon of whisky at the end too.

Tips for cooking with whisky: “If you’re going to cook with whisky, always use a good quality bottle. You won’t need to use much and it will make all the difference”

Whisky-Cured Salmon

For those growing up in Scotland, long summer days are often spent fishing salmon in the fast-running local rivers. Whisky-cured salmon is a Scottish favourite, served on a large wooden board with a range of accompaniments: oatcakes, thinly sliced pumpernickel bread, small bowls of assorted homemade pickles, crème fraîche, and lots of lemon wedges.

Ingredients- 8 servings

  • 1 Two Pound Wild Salmon Fillet (Boned, Skin On)
  • 1 Cup Coarse Sea Salt
  • ½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar 
  • 2 Tbsp Black Peppercorns (Crushed)
  • 2 Tbsp Juniper Berries 
  • ½ Cup of Whisky 
  • 2 Bunches of Dill 

Method:

  • Line a baking tray and rinse the salmon under cold water and pat dry. In a bowl, mix together the salt, sugar, peppercorns, and juniper berries. Sprinkle half the salt mixture onto the zprepared baking sheet and spread one bunch of dill on top.
  • Lay the salmon skin-side down on the dill and drizzle with the whisky. Cover with the remaining dill, and top with the rest of the salt mixture.
  • Wrap the salmon in a tight plastic wrap and refrigerate for 48 hours.
  • When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap from the salmon. Using the back of a knife scrape the cure mixture off the fish and lay on a large wooden board. To serve, thinly slice the salmon into diagonal strips leaving the skin behind. 

Tips for cooking with whisky: “The flavours of a single malt Scotch whisky, for example, are derived from malted barley fermentation, the distillation process and maturation in oak casks over several years, which makes it ideal to boost a wide variety of flavours in foods”

The Bottle Club: https://www.thebottleclub.com/

Christmas Leftovers: Five Boozy Recipes for a Burns Night Blow-Out

Whilst many of our cupboards are overflowing with leftover bottles of Christmas booze, it’s understandable if you don’t fancy drinking the dregs – but there’s no excuse to throw it out!

With Burns Night around the corner, why not put your booze to good use and create an alcohol-infused feast to get the celebrations rolling?

Not everyone has skills like Mary Berry or James Martin, which is why the team over at The Bottle Club have rallied together five quick and easy recipes which will perfectly accompany a Burns Night feast, allowing you to indulge in some delicious boozy calories.

Typsy Laird

This simply boozy Scottish trifle is the perfect pud for a Burns Night dinner and isn’t called Typsy Laird for nothing. For those who have leftover Christmas sherry, this is how to use it. Be warned, this sweet is not suitable for children!

This dessert can be generously doused in Sherry and Drambuie (a Scotch whisky liqueur infused with heather honey, herbs and spices), accompanied by custard and raspberries. You can adjust quantities of the individual ingredients based on your trifle dish and personal tastes, but making the custard from scratch is key, and it’s easier than you may think. 

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Serves 8

Ingredients:

Base:

  • 340 grams sponge or pound cake
  • 140ml Sherry
  • 60ml Drambuie
  • 230 grams raspberry jam
  • finely grated rind of a fresh, organic lemon
  • 6 ladyfingers

Custard:

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 60ml milk
  • 3 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

Top:

  • 250ml cream
  • 1 or 2 tbsp Drambuie

Method:

  1. Break the sponge cake into pieces and place on the bottom of a trifle bowl (or individual bowls).
  2. Place the Sherry and Drambuie in a measuring jug. Heat the jam slightly and add a little of the liquor to make it a bit runny. Pour the jam over the cake evenly.
  3. Add the crushed biscuits on top of the jam and sprinkle the lemon rind over the biscuits.
  4. Next, pour the liquor over the top of the crushed biscuits. Leave to soak.
  5. Make the custard by putting it into a bowl to cool a little, stirring constantly, before adding to the top of the trifle base. Cover and refrigerate overnight (at least 8 hours).
  6. Finish by whipping cream and add 1 or 2 tablespoons of Drambuie. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream onto the top of the trifle. Decorate with almonds, raspberries and mint leaves.

Recipe credit: Christina’s Cucina

Chicken with prosecco sauce

If you loved chicken before, you’ll certainly love it once infused with some bubbly booze-  prosecco and chicken is such a wonderful combination. This isn’t a typical dish on a Burns night menu, but similar to Scottish Deviled Chicken and perfect for those who don’t fancy haggis. 

This dish is simply rustic-style chicken served with stir-fried vegetables and a simple green salad, but the key to this dish is the flavoursome sauce, made with butter, rosemary, onions, chicken stock and of course, Prosecco.

Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1 medium onion
  • 250 ml of prosecco 
  • 450 grams boneless chicken
  • 10 tbsp chicken stog
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 1 large courgette (chopped)
  • 1 large carrot (chopped)
  • 1 cup button mushrooms

Method:

  1. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter to a deep pan. When the butter has melted, add chicken and saute until cooked through. Set aside on a plate.
  2. Add garlic and onions, lower the heat to medium and cook for five minutes until onions have softened.
  3. Add your prosecco and stir well to glaze the bottom of the pan, bringing to the boil. Add the chicken and lower to simmer, covering the pan to cook for 10 minutes.
  4. Remove rosemary and transfer onion mixture to a blender, add remaining two tablespoons chicken stock and puree until smooth. Set aside.
  5. In another pan, add remaining olive oil, zucchini, carrots and mushrooms and cook on medium/high heat for 5-7 minutes until vegetables are tender but still have a crunch. Add salt and pepper seasoning.
  6. Pop all ingredients into a large bowl, toss well and serve.

Recipe credit: Pickled Plum

Chocolate Haggis

As strange as it may sound, chocolate haggis is actually pretty tasty and perfect for those who are a bit squeamish about eating the real thing and more importantly, the perfect chance to splash away all that leftover whisky from Christmas 

This haggis- for those who don’t like haggis- is essentially shortbread and whisky fridge cake, ideally served with ice cream ‘tatties’ and orange jelly ‘neeps’. The end result, a seriously rich and boozy easy to make no-bake fridge cake.

Image: Food Quine

Preparation time: 20 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp Scotch Whisky (splash the good stuff!)
  • 50g Sultanas 
  • 100g Butter 
  • 100g Cocoa Powder 
  • 1 Free Range Egg 
  • 100g Caster Sugar 
  • 150g Shortbread 
  • 50g Mixed Nuts, chopped 
  • Icing Sugar to dust 

Method:

  1. Put the sultanas and whisky into a small bowl and leave to soak whilst you prepare the remaining ingredients
  2. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then sieve in the cocoa powder and stir until you have a smooth paste
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar and egg together until pale and creamy
  4. Place the shortbread in a zip lock bag and bash it with a rolling pin. You want a mixture of chunks and crumbs
  5. Combine the chocolate mixture with the sugar/egg mix and stir in the shortbread, chopped mixed nuts and the whisky soaked sultanas, plus any remaining whisky
  6. Layout a double thickness of cling film and tip the chocolate mixture out onto it forming a haggis shape
  7. Roll up and continue to manipulate into shape tying a knot at each end of the cling film
  8. Chill in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight to harden
  9. Remove the cling film, slice and serve alongside a wee dram

Recipe credit: Food Quine

Rum Hot Cross Buns

These boozy breakfast buns are a comforting sweet yet salty treat and can be enjoyed any time of the day. Scots are always partial to a splash of rum, so these buns are the perfect way to soak up any leftover at the back of the cupboard. 

Fluffy, light and tender, hot cross buns with rum-soaked currants are a treat any time of year but make holidays feel extra special, best served slightly toasted with a smear of salted butter, washed down with a nice warm brew- or a hot toddy.

Baking time: 20 minutes

Serves:16

Ingredients:

  • 300ml whole milk
  • 50g British unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp instant yeast
  • 575g strong bread flour
  • Table salt
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • premium spiced rum, eg. Captain Morgan Spiced Gold Rum
  • 1 orange
  • 75g sultanas
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup

Method:

  1. Boil 300ml of milk on a low heat and in a separate pan, place 50g of butter over low heat until melted. Add warmed milk and melted butter into a bowl, mix and leave to cool until mixture reaches room temperature.
  2. Separately, mix 500g of flour, 1 tsp of salt, 75g of caster sugar and 1sp of baking powder into a bowl.
  3. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture and add 1 beaten egg. Add in a splash of spiced rum, and combine the ingredients to form a sticky dough and place onto a floured surface.
  4. Knead until the mixture becomes smooth and then place the dough into a flour-covered bowl, leave to rise for 1 hour until the mixture has doubled in size.
  5. Once the dough has risen, place the mixture back onto a floured surface and tip in 75g of sultanas, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon and knead this into the dough.
  6. Divide the dough into 16 squares and on a floured surface, roll these squares into balls.
  7. Line these balls onto a baking tray and cover with a damp tea towel to allow the balls to prove for an additional hour until they have doubled in size.
  8. Add 5 tbsp of water, 1 tbsp at a time, to 75g of plain flour to make the paste, then pipe two lines across the top of the buns to make a cross on each, using a piping bag or a spoon.
  9. Place the hot cross buns in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes and set aside to cool on a wire rack once fully golden.

Recipe Credit: Rosalind Erskine

Whisky-Cured Salmon

On the coast, long summer days are often spent fishing salmon in the fast-running local rivers. Whisky-cured salmon is a Scottish favourite, served on a large wooden board with a range of accompaniments: oatcakes, thinly sliced pumpernickel bread, small bowls of assorted homemade pickles, crème fraîche, and lots of lemon wedges.

Preparation and Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves 8

Ingredients:

  • 1 Two Pound/ 900 gram Wild Salmon Fillet (Boned, Skin On)
  • 1 Cup Coarse Sea Salt
  • ½ Cup Dark Brown Sugar 
  • 2 Tbsp Black Peppercorns (Crushed)
  • 2 Tbsp Juniper Berries 
  • ½ Cup of Whisky 
  • 2 Bunches of Dill 

Method:

  1. Line a baking tray and rinse the salmon under cold water and pat dry. In a bowl, mix together the salt, sugar, peppercorns, and juniper berries. Sprinkle half the salt mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread one bunch of dill on top.
  2. Lay the salmon skin-side down on the dill and drizzle with the whisky. Cover with the remaining dill, and top with the rest of the salt mixture.
  3. Wrap the salmon in a tight plastic wrap and refrigerate for 48 hours.
  4. When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap from the salmon. Using the back of a knife scrape the cure mixture off the fish and lay on a large wooden board. To serve, thinly slice the salmon into diagonal strips leaving the skin behind. 

Recipe credit: Valerie Aikman-Smith

The Bottle Club tips for cooking with whisky: “The flavours of a single malt Scotch whisky, for example, are derived from malted barley fermentation, the distillation process and maturation in oak casks over several years, which makes it ideal to boost a wide variety of flavours in foods”

https://www.thebottleclub.com/