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The Graduate

The GraduateA bit of a short post in the continuing tribute to Imbibe Magazine’s quartet of “Simple Cocktails”.  Unlike the High Noon that cleverly paired several ingrediets that go very well together (tequila and triple sec, tequila and grapfruit juice, grapfruit and Campari), this cocktail takes on a more recalictrant loner of an ingrediet, Scotch.  The cocktail is the creation of Daniel Shoemaker of Teardrop Lounge in Portland, Oregon.  It starts out in a familiar territory by adding sweet vermouth, a la Rob Roy, but then decidedly ventures toward citrus and refreshing with curacao and tonic—a direction rarely associated with either Scoth or a Rob Roy.  The results are, if surprising, thoroughly enjoyable…

The Graduate

  • 1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
  • 1 oz. blended scotch
  • 1/2 oz. Curaçao
  • 2 oz. tonic water

Fill a rocks glass with ice cubes and add the first three ingredients and stir to combine. Add the tonic water and lightly stir again.  Garnish with a lemon twist.

We actually tweaked the instructions a bit.  I like having a huge ice cube in my rocks glass (to play with), so I put the first three ingredients in the bottom cocktail bar shaker with a lot of ice and stirred thoroughly before topping with the tonic water and gently stirring again.  I then strain that into the rocks glass with the jumbo ice cube and garnish with the lemon twist.

Like I said earlier, the drink is pretty unique and enjoyable.  Somehow the bitterness of the tonic and the sweet citus of the curacao harmonize nicely with the smokiness of the scotch to make something a bit more whimsical than a Rob Roy without deviating into the frivolousness of novelty drinks.  B and I have enjoyed this one now several times.

Coo, coo, ca-choo, Mrs Robinson

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