The Mean Fiddler Recipe
Irish whiskey with a smoky Islay accent, stirred with green Chartreuse, sweet vermouth, Campari and a little cinnamon — dense, herbal and bittersweet.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 29%
- Difficulty: Medium
Ingredients
- Irish whiskey30 ml (1 oz)
- Islay Scotch whisky15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Green Chartreuse22 ml (0.7 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth22 ml (0.7 oz)
- Campari15 ml (0.5 oz)
- Cinnamon syrup1 tsp
- Angostura bitters2 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass filled with ice.
- Stir until well chilled and diluted.
- Strain into a chilled coupe.
- Garnish with a dehydrated orange wheel and a cherry on a pick.
Garnish
Dehydrated orange wheel and a skewered cherry
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone, it has a green, botanical backdrop, 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 stemmed, shallow coupe. The stem keeps your hand's warmth away from the drink, and the wide bowl carries the aroma to your nose. Served without ice.
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.
- Green Chartreuse
- The 55% liqueur French monks make from 130 plants. Nothing really tastes like it and nothing really replaces it; yellow Chartreuse is sweeter and 40%.
- 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.
- Campari
- The red Italian bitter, with a bitterness that is unmistakable. Aperol can replace it, but Aperol is half the strength and clearly sweeter, so the drink comes out softer.
- Cinnamon syrup
- Made by steeping cinnamon sticks in simple syrup. Ground cinnamon clouds the drink and settles at the bottom, which is why it is sticks, steeped and strained.
- 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
A modern stirred whiskey drink drawing on the Bijou and the Boulevardier, with the base split between Irish whiskey and peated Scotch.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a The Mean Fiddler mixed?
- It is stirred and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a The Mean Fiddler?
- Roughly 29% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a The Mean Fiddler 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 The Mean Fiddler 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.