The Penicillin

A modern classic cocktail good for whatever ails you...

Cocktail history:

Falling into the category of the “Modern Classics,” the Penicillin sits firmly in the repertoire of most cocktail bartenders these days. Originally created by Australian bartender Sam Ross, head bartender at Milk & Honey in the early 2000’s.  Milk & Honey, founded by the late Sasha Petraske, helped to changed the definition of the cocktail bar.  Along with a select few other establishments, these were responsible for ushering in a new cocktail renaissance, an end to the dark ages of drinking in America. 

Sam Ross is also the creator of another modern classic whiskey cocktail...

Can you guess which one?

The Final Ward

Rye, Lemon, and Green Chartreuse

Wrong

The Final Ward, a riff on the Last Word, was created by Phil Ward

The Paper Plane

Bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Aperol, Lemon

Correct!

The Paper Plane, created by Sam Ross and Sasha Petraske, was a riff on the Last Word, which itself was a riff on the Corpse Reviver #2

Gold Rush

Bourbon, Lemon, Honey

Wrong

While the Gold Rush was a Modern Classic from Milk & Honey, it was a creation of T.J. Siegel

The Penecillin is an aptly named cocktail; as all of its ingredients have at some point or another have been said to have medicinal properties. Holistically or symptomatically- it will definitely make you feel better… 

How to build:

  1. In your cocktail shaker, pour 3/4 oz of fresh lemon juice. For an excellent cocktail, always use citrus juices that have been squeezed in the last 8 hours and properly refrigerated. 
  2. Add 3/4 oz of honey syrup (1:1). Technique: Simply boil 1/2 a cup of water and add 1/2 a cup of honey. Be sure to chill your honey syrup before using in a cocktail. 
  3. Add 3/4 oz of fresh ginger syrup. There are many different techniques for making good ginger syrup… Find the one that you like best, and be prepared to alter the ratios in this cocktail to suit your choice. If liquor cost is not driving your choice, try this method. Take 1/2 pound of fresh ginger root, and peel off the skin. Slice it up, and boil it for 5-10 minutes (to soften). Remove the ginger from the boiling water, and allow to cool. Blend the ginger root in a blender. Empty the blended ginger into a bowl lined with cheese-cloth. Wring out the juice using the cheesecloth, and add to a 1/2 cup of simple syrup (1:1). 
  4. Pour two ounces of the lightly peated Scotch of your choice. You can use a blend or a single malt, its your choice.  We prefer a summery whisky with a whiff of smoke as the base for our Penecillin.
  5. Add fresh ice, filling your cocktail shaker 2/3 full. Shake, and fine strain into a double rocks glass filled with fresh ice.
  6. Using a bar spoon or an atomizer, apply a healthy bouquet of heavily peated Single Malt Scotch Whisky, such as Talisker 10-year or Bunnahabhain Toiteach. If using an atomizer, don’t be afraid to get some of that Scotch on the outside of the glass- the point is for that peaty aroma to invade the nostrils of the imbiber.

Ingredients:

Sam Ross' original recipe

  1. 2 oz Scotch Whisky 
  2. 3/4 oz Ginger Syrup
  3. 3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice 
  4. 3/4 oz Honey Syrup (1:1)
  5. 2 Bar Spoons (or an atomizer) of Heavily Peated Single Malt Scotch

Equipment needed:

  1. Cocktail Shaker
  2. Jigger
  3. Hawthorne Strainer
  4. Fine Strainer
  5. Bar Spoon (or Atomizer)

Glassware:

Served in a Rocks glass with ice.

Check out some of our other posts here...

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