Scotch Sour

It will, and some people want exactly that. If you are unsure, build it on a blend and float 10 ml of something peated on top. The smoke then arrives on the nose first, and you can decide whether the next one gets Islay all the way through.

Often, yes. Honey and malt share a lot of ground, and a 1:1 honey-to-water syrup gives the drink a rounder middle than white sugar does. Use the same 15 ml. A dark heather honey will bully the whisky, so keep to something mild like acacia or clover.

Push the sugar to 20 ml before you touch anything else, since 60 ml of whisky against 22 of lemon needs more sweetness than a gin sour would. If it is still hollow, you underchilled it. A sour wants a hard, cold shake and then fresh ice in the glass.

Rocks is the house version and it suits Scotch, because the slow dilution keeps opening the whisky as you drink. Served up it hits harder and reads drier, which flatters a lighter blend. Either way, strain onto fresh ice rather than the cubes you shook with.

A classic Scotch Sour calls for 60 ml (2 oz) Scotch whisky, 22 ml (0.75 oz) Fresh lemon juice, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Simple syrup. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Scotch Sour is roughly 27% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

A Scotch Sour is shaken — the rule of thumb is to shake anything with citrus juice. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.