Rusty Compass

Rusty Compass by Meaghan Dorman

A pirate’s toast is in order for this fine nautical novelty. Let’s travel back to the Isle of Sky in the late 1800’s, where the clan MacKinnon were perfecting their age old recipe of scotch, honey and herbs that would go on to become better known as Drambuie, from the Scottish Gaelic phrase an dram buidheach, "the drink that satisfies". First commercially produced in Edinburgh, 1910, the makers backdated the “origin” story to 1746, claiming that Prince Charles Edward Stuart gifted the secret recipe to Captain John MacKinnon for providing sanctuary, although the truth of this is contested, as is the case with most of these spirited backstories. Drambuie is nonetheless a delicious liqueur and ideal as a sweetening agent in many cocktails, but particularly well suited for a scotch base. In fact one of the most famous Drambuie cocktails is the relatively simple combination of 1 part Drambuie to 2 parts scotch known as a Rusty Nail, a drink that gained popularity in the fifties and was a favorite of the Hollywood ‘rat pack’ of the sixties.

Lovechild of a Rusty Nail and a Blood and Sand

Modern day bartender Meaghan Dorman is a celebrated and successful figure in the spirits industry and proprietor of the highly regarded New York bars Raines Law Room and Dear Irving, among her many other accomplishments. “I believe in nurturing the magic that comes with the right combination of delicious cocktails, music, ambience & people.” Dorman loves cherry Heering and scotch, and says they used a lot of Compass Box’s smoky Peat Monster at Raines Law Room when it first came out. Her update on the Rusty Nail was a natural result, featuring the intense scotch, which she offsets with Drambuie, of course, but also a touch of the bitter sweet cherry liqueur. It’s a subtle adjustment to the classic that also pays homage to another famous cocktail made with scotch and cherry liqueur, the Blood and Sand. I’d say it’s the perfect way to conjure a pirate’s treasure, locked tight in a chest held fast by rusted nails, buried deep in the blood stained sand, and only revealed with aid of a (magical) rusted compass. Cheers!

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Rusty Compass by Meaghan Dorman

1 ½ oz Compass Box Peat Monster scotch

¾ oz Drambuie

½ oz Heering cherry liqueur

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite chalice. Orange twist garnish, or a lime wheel compass.