Easy Whisky Cocktails
Sure, everyone loves the thrill and the drama of an elaborate cocktail. But it’s also a fact that sometimes you just want something that hits the spot. Something quick which doesn’t cut back on quality. Something easy which still feels elevated.
Whisk these whisky cocktails up in no time. Each one requires minimal effort but delivers maximum impact – and we’ll toast to that.
Old Fashioned
You’ll need:
60ml bourbon
10ml 2:1 sugar syrup (two parts sugar dissolved over heat into one part water)
Two dashes of aromatic bitters
A slice of orange peel and one maraschino cherry
To make:
Fill a rocks glass with ice
Add the whisky, syrup and bitters
Stir and finish with an orange peel and cherry to garnish
Curious to learn more about the best whiskey to use in an Old Fashioned? Read our guide on the traditional approach, and some not-so-traditional approaches.
Scotch Mule (aka Glasgow Mule)
You’ll need:
60ml whisky
15ml lime juice
10ml 2:1 sugar syrup (two parts sugar dissolved over heat into one part water)
Ginger beer
Mint (optional garnish)
To make:
Fill a glass (a copper mule mug, if you have it!) with ice and pour in your chosen whisky
Add your lime juice and sugar syrup
Top with ginger beer and stir lightly
Garnish with a sprig of mint.
Whisky Mac
You'll need:
40ml Scotch whisky - we love Johnnie Walker Black Label for this drink
25ml ginger wine
Lemon peel
To prepare:
Place a few ice cubes in an ice glass, then pour over the ginger wine and Scotch.
Stir gently and serve with a strip of freshly cut lemon peel.
Manhattan
You’ll need:
50ml whiskey (typically a rye, like Bulleit)
25ml sweet vermouth
A couple of dashes of bitters
A maraschino cherry
To make:
Pour your whiskey and vermouth into a mixing glass filled with ice
Add in a couple of dashes of bitters
Give it a stir for about 30 seconds
Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a skewered maraschino cherry
Rusty Nail
You’ll need:
50ml whisky (we love Johnnie Walker Black Label for this, but any blended Scotch is perfect)
25ml Drambuie (if you can’t find this product, a close alternative is swapping it for honey)
Lemon peel
To make:
Add the whisky and Drambuie to a mixing glass filled with ice
Stir the mixture for about 30 seconds
Strain into a short glass
Add a twist of lemon peel
Glitterball
Celebrating? Swap the champagne for this whisky marvel. It’s low effort but high glamour.
You’ll need:
40ml Johnnie Walker Gold Label
20ml elderflower cordial
15ml sour syrup (we recommend buying a pre-made mix)
30ml soda water
Lemon peel
To make:
Pour your whisky, elderflower cordial and syrup into a mixing glass filled with ice
Give it a stir for about 30 seconds
Strain into a champagne flute
Add the soda water to top
Garnish with a twisted lemon peel
Rob Roy
The Rob Roy is very similar to a Manhattan, in both flavour and how simple it is to make. The key difference is that a Rob Roy only ever uses Scotch whisky, whereas a Manhattan can use a rye or any other kind of whisky.
You’ll need:
60ml single malt Scotch whisky
15ml sweet vermouth
A couple of dashes of bitters
Lemon peel
To make:
Fill a mixing glass with ice
Measure out your whisky and sweet vermouth and pour into the glass
Add a few dashes of bitters
Stir for around 30 seconds and strain into a martini or coupe glass
Cut a lemon peel strip, twist and hang from the rim
Cold Fashioned
A simple but punchy take on a classic, this recipe uses equal parts rye whiskey and Mr. Black coffee liqueur with a few dashes of orange bitters.
You’ll need:
30ml Bulleit bourbon
30ml Mr Black cold brew coffee liqueur (or any coffee liqueur)
Orange bitters
Orange peel
To make:
Measure your coffee liqueur and bourbon into a rocks glass
Add two dashes of orange bitters
Gently add in one large ice cube and stir for about 20 seconds
Garnish with an orange peel
Sazerac
You’ll need:
40ml Bulleit bourbon
20ml cognac
10ml sugar syrup (two parts sugar dissolved over heat into one part water)
A few dashes of bitters
A rinse of absinthe (procuring absinthe is the hardest part of this deceptively simple classic cocktail!)
Lemon peel
To make:
Add your bourbon, cognac and syrup to a mixing glass filled with ice
Add bitters and stir until it’s mixed (roughly about 30 seconds)
Strain your drink into a rocks glass which has been rinsed with absinthe (this just means pouring about a shot in, swirling it around and then pouring it away)
Add a lemon peel for garnish
Whisky Highball
You’ll need:
50ml whisky
150ml soda water
Lemon slice
To make:
Fill a highball glass with ice
Pour in your whisky and top up with soda water
Stir gently to combine and add the lemon slice to garnish
Sunrise Highball
Following the tried and tested method of a simple Whisky Highball, the Sunrise Highball adds a touch of citrus and sweet flavours to really reimagine what a whisky cocktail can taste like.
You’ll need:
50ml whisky
100ml blood orange juice
50ml fresh orange juice
Orange slice
To make:
In a highball glass filled with ice, pour in your whisky
Next, add in your blood orange juice
Finally, top with fresh orange juice to create a layered effect
Garnish with the orange slice
Whisky & Cola
You’ll need:
50ml whisky - a Johnnie Walker Red Label is great for this
125ml cola of choice
Lime wedge
To make:
Fill a highball glass with ice
Pour in your chosen whisky
Top with cola
Add a wedge of lime to garnish
Hot Toddy
You’ll need:
50ml whisky
75ml boiling water
25ml runny honey
15ml lemon juice
3 cloves
1 lemon
To make:
To a mug or heatproof glass, add the whisky, honey and lemon and stir to combine
Drop in the cloves
Top with boiling water
Garnish with a slice of lemon
Gold Rush
You'll need:
60ml whisky - try a Johnnie Walker Black Label
25ml lemon juice
15ml honey
Pinch of salt
Lemon peel
To make:
Add the whisky, lemon juice, honey and salt to a cocktail shaker filled with ice
Shake vigorously until the surface of the cocktail shaker is cold to the touch
Strain into a glass with ice cubes
Twist a lemon peel and add to the glass for garnish
Dark Delight
You'll need:
25ml whiskey
25ml orange liqueur
200ml of stout (such as Guinness)
Chocolate shavings
To make:
Add ice cubes to a rocks glass
Pour in your whisky and orange liqueur
Top up with stout
Add chocolate shavings as garnish
Godfather
Now the offer of this well-balanced, rich treat is something you can’t refuse.
You’ll need:
50ml whisky - a blended Scotch is preferable
25ml amaretto
Orange peel
To make:
Add ice to a large mixing glass
Pour in your whisky and amaretto and give it a good stir – the outside of the glass should feel very cold when it’s ready
Strain the mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice
Garnish with a twisted orange peel
The final word
So, which one will you choose? If you're looking for more, enjoy our rundown of the best whisky cocktails ever. You'll see a few familiar faces, we're sure.
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