If you need something spirited to get through an evening of handing out candy, how about a special Scotch Sour? This recipe, from Laphroaig (our personal favorite Scotch—we love that peat!)

“Sour” refers to lemon juice, which is added to the whisky with sugar to create the drink.

RECIPE: LAPHROAIG TRICK OR TREAT COCKTAIL

Ingredients Per Drink

• Ice cubes
• 1-1/2 parts Laphroaig 10-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky, or other Scotch of choice
• 3 parts apple cider (hard or non-alcoholic—see below)
• 1 part fresh lemon sour (see below)
• Garnish: lemon wedge

Preparation

1. BUILD the drink over ice in a collins glass, in order of the list above. Stir.

2. GARNISH with a lemon wedge and enjoy.

Also called bar mix or sweet and sour mix, lemon sour is lemon-infused simple syrup. Instead of buying a commercial mix made with lemon juice concentrate, you can make it from scratch with fresh lemon juice; it keeps in the fridge for two weeks.

Recipe: Lemon Sour Mix

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (or half lemon, half lime juice)
• 2 tablespoons lime or lemon zest

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the water, sugar and zest in a saucepan; heat on low, stirring gently until the sugar has dissolved.

3. CHILL for at least an hour before using.
 
APPLE CIDER VERSUS APPLE JUICE: THE DIFFERENCE

Since Prohibition, which began in the U.S. in 1920, “cider” has referred to the unfermented, unpasteurized apple juice, with “hard cider” used to indicate the alcoholic beverage. In the U.K. it is the opposite, with “cider” indicating the alcoholic drink for which special cider apples are used.

• Hard cider is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from the unfiltered juice of apples. The alcohol content varies from a low 1.2% ABV* to 8.5% or higher—some imported ciders can be up to 12% ABV, an average level for table wines.
• Fresh apple cider is raw apple juice, typically unfiltered. Thus, it is cloudy from the remnants of apple pulp. It is also typically more flavorful than apple juice—although of course, the particular blend of apples used in either has a big impact on the taste.
• Apple juice has been filtered to remove pulp solids, then pasteurized for longer shelf life.

WHISKEY VS. WHISKY

The use of the e, or not, is an Irish vs. Scots spelling choice. Some scholars claim that the Irish were the true innovators of whiskey and that they introduced it to the Scots; others claim the reverse.

Scholars can’t determine why the “e” was dropped by the Scots. One theory is that the Irish made whiskey first and pronounced it with a broad “e.” When the Scots began to make it, they dropped the “e” to differentiate their product.

In Ireland and the U.S., the word whiskey is spelled with an “e,” while the British, Scots and Canadians usually opt to drop it.

At THE NIBBLE, we prefer adding the “e” for visual elegance. Here’s more on the history of whiskey.
 
*ABV is alcohol by volume. It is doubled to get the proof. For example, a 40% ABV spirit is 80 proof.