Arnaud’s Special Cocktail
Arnaud Special Cocktail
Owing to the fact that we had to skip over the Amarosa Cocktail I was a little daunted at the prospect of another in-your-face whiskey drink. This gin girl can handle her bourbon, but I’m out of my league when it comes to scotch. Luckily D lives for a good scotch cocktail and was completely in his element.
As we had a couple of brands of scotch and a couple different bitters on hand we decided to test several variations of this drink. We made D’s with Johnny Walker Red,
Johnny Walker Red
as suggested by Dr. Cocktail, and Fee’s Orange Bitters. I concocted my libation with Glenfiddich and Angostura Orange Bitters. Both cocktails exhibited notes of orange, bing cherry, coffee, moss, and band-aid, but Doug’s was more peaty, notably so, while mine was sharper from the bolder Angostura bitters.
We were both surprised at the refreshing quality of this beverage. I had expected to be breathing out whisky vapours, but the Dubonnet quelled the scotch.
Dubonnet Rouge
For his part D was looking for more intensity from the scotch. While not dissatisfied with the drink he nevertheless declared Arnaud’s Special Cocktail to be “an afternoon drink” and likened the concoction to a “scotch sangria.”
In an attempt to amp up the scotch flavour D devised a third version using 1½ ounces Johnny Walker Red, ½ ounce Laphroig, 1 ounce Dubonnet Rouge and 3 dashes of Fee’s Orange Bitters. The result was a peat bomb.
The Laphroaig completely overpowered the delicate flavours offered by the aperitif and the bitters.
Laphroaig
Our consensus: use a blended or lowland scotch for subtlety and balance.
Arnaud’s Special Cocktail
- 2 ounces scotch (such as Johnny Walker Red)
- 1 ounce Dubonnet Rouge
- 3 dashes orange bitters (we like Angostura Orange)
Shake over ice. Strain. Garnish with an orange twist.
Arnaud Special Cocktail ingredients
