A friend from the North!

Smashing up some peaches and adding a little booze makes for a damn fine drink! This simple recipe is light enough for summer but has a great whiskey kick.

This recipe uses a mellow blended scotch, but Canadian or Irish whiskey would also work well.

The Ward Eight is over a century old, with roots stretching back to Boston in the late 1890s. As with many drinks of yore, the Ward Eight is a celebratory concoction, named for Martin Lomasney’s state legislature victory in his ward (hence its relatively obvious name). Courtesy of Dewar’s.

We are big fans of punch and this one created by mixologist Eric Castro did not disappoint. Made with HighlandPark 12-year-old single-malt scotch, yellow chartreuse, a hint of ginger, bitters, ginger beer, and fresh fruit the result is a wonderfully complex drink. We tried this at the recent StarChefs.com Rising Star Chef’s Review in San Francisco. For an event wrap up and more photos, check out Lick My Spoon.

1 1/2 Parts Domaine de Canton
1 Part Maker’s Mark Bourbon
1/2 Part Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Thanks Kayce!

Origins of the Highball (cocktail, not the glass) are rumored to be in the Midwest, specifically St. Louis. On some rail lines, if an engineer spotted a large steel ball resting upon an approaching signal pole, it was a sign that he should speed up. From that, the word “highball” evolved to mean a quickly prepared drink. Courtesy of Dewar’s.

Courtesy of Dewar’s.

Rob Roy MacGregor (1670-1734) fought to protect the farmers’ way of life, earning the respect of this fellow Highlanders and a prison sentence for treason. He escaped (several times, actually) and lived the remainder of his life as an outlaw. The Rob Roy cocktail was created in 1894 to celebrate the opening of the Herald Square musical that paid homage to this Scottish folk hero. Courtesy of Dewar’s Scotch Whisky.