Chamomile Kilt: A Scotch Cocktail

Name: Chamomile Kilt: A Scotch Cocktail
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

RECIPE: Reprinted with permission from Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em by Neal Bodenheimer and Emily Timberlake. Published by Abrams.

Photo: Denny Culbert

December 02, 2022

A classic from award-winning New Orleans bar Cure.

“Danny [Valdéz] was such an important member of our early team at Cure, and he always makes delicious drinks,” writes Neal Bodenheimer in Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em. One such cocktail was this Scotch cocktail sweetened with chamomile simple syrup. Valdéz uses a Speyside single malt “but any pure-malt blended Scotch will work,” says Bodenheimer.

Ingredients

1/2 lemon
2 oz (60 ml) Speyside single malt Scotch
3/4 oz (22.5 ml) chamomile simple syrup
3 or 4 mint leaves
mint sprig, for garnish
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chamomile simple syrup
1 part white sugar
1 part freshly brewed chamomile tea

Tools:shaker tin, strainer, fine strainer
Glass:double Old Fashioned
Garnish:mint sprig

Preparation

Muddle the lemon in a shaker tin. Add the Scotch, chamomile syrup, and mint leaves, fill with ice, and shake until chilled. Double-strain into a glass filled with ice, garnish, and serve.

Chamomile Simple Syrup Combine the sugar and tea in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Transfer to a nonreactive container and store airtight in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.