Scotch Hobbyist's Blog

In my post yesterday, I talked about the Glenmo/Ardbeg tasting I attended, and the fact that they served a cocktail with Ardbeg in it:

Smoky Peach

Smoky Peach

• 2 parts Navan vanilla cognac
• 1 part Ardbeg 10
• dash of Fee Brothers Peach Bitters
• served on the rocks.

After the big tasting yesterday, I was going to skip my nightly dram tonight, but having purchased some Navan and Peach Bitters on my lunch break today, I wanted to try making a small Smoky Peach.  I purchased Navan vanilla cognac, the same one they used at the tasting. I was interested in Meukow VS Vanilla (yes, admittedly because I thought the bottle was cool), but after reading this comparison on Scottes’ Rum Pages blog, I decided to stick with the Navan. I want to be able to serve this to people who don’t care for a heavy “spirit” nose, and I think the strong vanilla component is important for this cocktail.

I started with 35ml of Navan and 20ml of Ardbeg, then added a little under 1/2 teaspoon of peach bitters and finally the ice. Too much bitters for me! A little really does go a long way (I guess the shaker cap was a good clue to that this was the case). I added a few more drops of Navan and Ardbeg, then let the ice melt a bit and it was closer to what they served last night. Next time, I’m going to try 44ml Navan, 25ml Ardbeg, and somewhere around 1/4 (or less) teaspoon of bitters and adjust from there.

I’ll post an update if I find the “perfect” mix (for me).

[Update 6/6/09] The 2-1 ratio of Cognac to Ardbeg seems to work just fine.  It’s the peach bitters you need to be careful with.  Start with just a drop and work up.  I made a mix with 8 oz Ardbeg and 16 oz Congnac, and I only needed a few drops of bitters.