Modern Medicine Recipe
A bourbon sour with a measure of Aperol and a float of peated Islay Scotch — somewhere between a Paper Plane and a Penicillin.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 18%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Bourbon45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Aperol15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Fresh lemon juice22.5 ml (0.8 oz)
- Simple syrup15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Islay Scotch whisky7.5 ml (0.3 oz)
How to Make It
- Add the bourbon, Aperol, lemon juice and simple syrup to a shaker with ice.
- Shake hard until well chilled.
- Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.
- Float the Islay Scotch on top and serve without garnish.
Garnish
None
What it tastes like
The citrus acidity leads, it smells of lemon and lime peel and smoke dominates the nose.
The technique
Shaking. Anything with juice, syrup, egg white or cream gets shaken: the shaker chills the drink and adds roughly 20% water, and that water is what takes the edge off. Twelve to fifteen seconds, until the tin frosts over. Under-shaking leaves the drink harsh because it never got enough dilution.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Bourbon
- American whiskey made from at least 51% corn and aged in new charred oak. The corn gives sweetness, the barrel vanilla; swap in rye and the drink turns noticeably spicier.
- Aperol
- The orange aperitif, flavoured with bitter orange and rhubarb. It is Campari's gentler cousin: 11% alcohol, sweeter, far less bitter. Substituting Campari means adding sugar.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Freshly squeezed lemon; one lemon gives 30-40 ml. It can swap with lime, but lemon is softer and less aromatic, so use a touch more.
- Simple syrup
- One part sugar to one part water, stirred until it dissolves — no need to boil it. Keeps a month in the fridge. No syrup? Use the same amount of honey, loosened with a little water.
- Islay Scotch whisky
- Whisky from Islay, made with barley dried over peat smoke — it smells of the sea and of soot. A few drops change a whole drink, which is why most recipes use it as a rinse or a dash.
The Story
A home-bartender creation shared on an online cocktail forum, conceived as a cross between two modern classics.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Modern Medicine mixed?
- It is shaken and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Modern Medicine?
- Roughly 18% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Modern Medicine be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Modern Medicine hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.