Penicillin with a dried lemon wheel.
The Penicillin is a modern classic that earned the name. Scotch, lemon, honey, and fresh ginger, with a smoky Islay float on top that hits you before the glass does. It tastes like a hot toddy that decided to be a serious cocktail. Genuinely restorative, even if the name is a joke.
The dried lemon sits on the rock and reads clean against the gold of the whisky. It carries the citrus without adding the wet weight a fresh slice would.
What you'll need
- 50ml blended Scotch
- 10ml smoky Islay Scotch, to float
- 22ml fresh lemon juice
- 22ml honey-ginger syrup
- 1 dried lemon wheel
- Large ice cube
How to make it
- For the syrup, simmer equal parts honey, water, and sliced fresh ginger for 5 minutes, then strain and cool.
- Add the blended Scotch, lemon juice, and honey-ginger syrup to a shaker with ice.
- Shake hard for 10 seconds.
- Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.
- Float the Islay Scotch over the back of a spoon, then rest a dried lemon wheel on top.
Why dried beats fresh here
The smoky float is delicate, a thin layer of peated Scotch sitting on the surface, and the aroma is most of the drink. A wet fresh lemon slice dropped on top breaks that layer and bleeds juice that flattens the smoke.
A dried wheel is light and dry, so it sits on the rock without disturbing the float. It gives you the lemon on the nose alongside the peat, and it holds its edge through every sip rather than wilting into the ice.
Use the Lemon jar, about 25 wheels per jar, enough to see you through a long cold-weather run.