Scotch Sling Recipe
Peaty Islay Scotch softened with sweet vermouth, honey and lemon, with maraschino and bitters for depth — smoky, tangy and rounded.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 21%
- Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
- Islay Scotch whisky60 ml (2 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth22.5 ml (0.8 oz)
- Fresh lemon juice15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Honey syrup15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Maraschino liqueur1 tsp
- Angostura bitters2 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled and diluted.
- Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.
- Express a lemon peel over the drink and drop it in.
Garnish
Lemon peel
What it tastes like
Smoke dominates the nose and it is layered, giving you something different each sip.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
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
- 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.
- Sweet red vermouth
- Once opened it lives IN THE FRIDGE and should be finished within a month; a bottle left at room temperature oxidises in a few weeks and sours the drink.
- 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.
- Honey syrup
- Three parts honey to one part warm water. Neat honey seizes up in a cold drink, which is why it gets loosened first. Heavier and more aromatic than simple syrup.
- Maraschino liqueur
- A clear liqueur made from marasca cherries. It has nothing to do with the red jarred cocktail cherry — it smells of almond kernel and flowers, and it is dry, not sweet.
- Angostura bitters
- The salt of the cocktail world. Measured in dashes, not millilitres: a few of them cut the sweetness and add spice. One bottle lasts years.
The Story
An "improved" take on the sling, one of the oldest drink families — originally just spirit, sugar and water — dressed up here with vermouth, liqueur and bitters.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Scotch Sling mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Scotch Sling?
- Roughly 21% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Scotch Sling 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 Scotch Sling hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.