Staff Blog
Take your Penicillin and sleep through tomorrow morning
posted by Felicia D'Ambrosio
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| Photo l Felicia D’Ambrosio |
| The Penicillin cocktail at Franklin Mortgage & Investment |
Conventional (i.e., actual physician’s) wisdom says one shouldn’t drink while taking antibiotics. Mixing Cipro and Cognac will not only give you a belly that feels like a battleground for baby dragons, but can inebriate your sick self ten times faster than normal.
So skip the anti-microbials, which may not be that good for you after all, and drink a Penicillin. This drink, developed by Sam Ross at Milk & Honey in NYC, plays on the restorative powers of honey, lemon, ginger and super-smoky Islay single malt Scotch.
A base of mellow blended Scotch (Famous Grouse is a good choice) is piqued with a tiny float of rich, peaty Laphroaig, resulting in a cocktail that exhibits a clean balance of sweetness (honey), acid (lemon), spice (ginger) and smoky complexity.
Though it doesn’t appear on the official menu of libations at Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co., the staff assured Meal Ticket the Penicillin ($12) was a best seller. Franklin serves this one poured over a small hand-chipped iceberg to keep things chilly without massive dilution.
After the jump, scope Sam Ross’s original recipe, modified by Meal Ticket for the home bartender.
Adapted Penicillin Cocktail
2 oz. Blended Scotch (Famous Grouse, Dewars, Johnny Walker)
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz. honey syrup  (make honey syrup by stirring together equal parts honey and almost-boiling water)
5 small slices fresh ginger
1/4 oz. smoky Islay Scotch (Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Oban, Caol Ila)
Muddle ginger well in a shaker pint or tin. (If you don’t have a muddler, use the handle of a big wooden spoon). Add all ingredients except Laphroaig to tin; add ice. Shake hard and double strain over fresh rocks in a lowball glass. Using a spoon, float Laphroaig on top of drink.
By Sam Ross of Milk & Honey, NYCÂ (Ross’s recipe uses 3/4 oz. ginger-honey syrup)
