Manicured Nail
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Boozy, smoky and floral?
Delicate florals are not typically commingled with boozy stirred cocktails, but the lavender in this cocktail really breathes new life into the Rusty Nail. The subtle smoke from the earl grey tea add an air of sophistication and the grapefruit oil gives just a hint of bitterness and accentuates the floral character of the Drambuie and lavender liqueur. It makes a wonderfully elegant night cap.
One of my favorite scotch cocktails has to be a rusty nail - which has sadly fallen out of fashion.
You’ll need the following equipment:
Ingredients:
Rice
Blended Scotch
Lavender Liqueur
Drambuie
It’s a simple drink to make- 2 parts blended scotch to 1-part Drambuie. Yet flavor wise- its anything but simple. Drambuie’s herbal and honeyed notes pair beautifully with the subtle smoke and maltiness from the scotch.
To bring this cocktail into the new millennium, I will be giving it more of a floral touch by incorporating a homemade lavender liqueur and a bit of smoke made with earl grey tea.
When I first thought of this drink, I envisioned an extremely well to do elderly woman who would sit at an upscale hotel bar donned in furs - and pearls - and just exuded class.
This would absolutely be her drink of choice. And in honor of this woman and her style, I’m calling this cocktail the manicured nail.
This cocktail utilizes my lavender liqueur which is really simple to make! Essentially you just infuse vodka with lavender and add a few butterfly pea flowers for color. Once infused, blend the lavender infusion with sugar and its ready to use!
To give it a bit more of an interesting flavor profile, I will be smoking the cocktail with earl grey tea. You might be asking- why not just use a pleated scotch? The reason I chose not to use a pleated scotch is that the peat smoke flavor is a bit too harsh for the other delicate flavors I want to highlight.
When smoking with tea leaves, you need to add an equal part of rice to the tea. Rice helps the tea burn more slowly so that you get more flavor, if you want a really smoky flavor, you can add sugar too. Sugar helps the smoke adhere to whatever it is you are smoking. I just want a very subtle hint of smoke, so I will not be using any sugar.
For the mix I will be using one 1/2 teaspoon of earl grey tea, one 1/2 teaspoon of jasmine rice and since I do want a bit of wood smoke in there, I will also be adding a couple of American oak wood chips.
To make sure it’s all evenly dispersed, I’m going to blitz it a few times in my spice grinder.
I don’t have any smoking equipment in my home bar, so I am simply going to light the mixture on a heat proof dish and once it begins to smoke, ill cover it with my glass. A chilled glass will help the smoke adhere better.
Once the embers have given up the ghost, I will quickly remove the glass and cover with a coaster to keep the smoke inside.
While my glass is being smoked, I’m going to prepare the cocktail.
First, I will add a quarter ounce of my lavender liqueur
Next ill add a half ounce of Drambuie
And lastly ill add 1 and a half ounces of blended scotch- I like monkey shoulder for this cocktail. It’s such a versatile and malty blended scotch. It works perfectly for this cocktail.
Now I will just add the ice and give it a 30 second stir.
And now for the presentation. First Ill add the ice to my smoked glass. Some of the smoke will leave during this part but that’s okay, the scents and flavors have adhered to the glass. If you find yours lacking the scents and flavors, try freezing your glass first. Then we can pour in the cocktail. I absolutely love watching the remaining smoke billow out of the glass when pouring smoked cocktails. It never gets old for me.
Instead of using a lemon twist I’m opting for a grapefruit peel to highlight the floral aromas from the Drambuie and lavender. Ill express the oils from the peel, and then discard it.
For the garnish, I’ll be placing a tiny dried lavender bouquet on the rim. And there you have it - the manicured nail.
It’s such a lovely complex and elegant sipper. I love the addition of lavender, smoke and grapefruit to this cocktail- it totally enhances the floral and honeyed character of both the scotch and Drambuie. As the ice melts, the flavors develop even more- there’s a lot going on here and I am loving all of it. And I imagine that that dreamed up woman sitting in her furs and pearls would enjoy one of these. Probably two.
Earl Grey Tea Smoking Blend:
1/2 tsp earl grey tea leaves
1/2 tsp white rice
4- 5 American oak wood chips
The Manicured Nail:
1.5 oz blended scotch (I prefer Monkey Shoulder for this cocktail)
.5 oz Drambuie
.25 oz Lavender Liqueur
Grapefruit Twist
Lavender Sprig
Method:
Stir the Scotch, Drambuie and Lavender Liqueur together with ice in a mixing glass for 30 seconds.
Strain into a smoked rocks glass over a large ice cube, express a grapefruit twist over the top and discard.
Garnish with a dried lavender sprig.
