polly's special

2 oz Famous Grouse Scotch
1/2 oz Marie Brizard Orange Curacao
1/2 oz Pink Grapefruit Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange wedge.

Last night after dinner, Andrea and I decided to get an after dinner drink at Green Street. As I perused their large cocktail menu for a drink that both called out to me and that I have not had before, I spotted the Polly's Special and asked Bice to make me one. Part of the allure is an attempt to teach myself to like Scotch. At a Scotch tasting several months ago, the only one that I remotely enjoyed enough to consider buying a bottle was a Dalwhinnie 15 Year. The Dalwhinnie was the least peaty and smoky of all the Scotches I have tasted and I am guessing that it is why I enjoyed it most. When I told a Scotch fanatic a few weeks later which Scotch I enjoyed, his response was "Ah Dalwhinnie -- a lady's Scotch". He then realized how what he said might have come across and apologized, to which I countered that I enjoyed drinking 145 proof Bourbon, Fernet-Branca, and other liquors so I was not offended by his comment. Since then, I have enjoyed Scotch in the Avery's Arrack-ari's the Talisker rinse and in the Chancellor Cocktail I made at home this weekend (1 3/4 oz Scotch, 1/2 oz dry vermouth, 1/2 oz port (I used ruby), 1 dash Peychaud's Bitters). And in the process of acclimating myself to Scotches, I went with Polly's Special.

Over all, the cocktail was a touch sweet with a good mix of tart and smoky. Andrea commented that "it's a nice cocktail... the flavors work well with the Scotch". A similar cocktail I have had at Green Street is The Blinker which is rye, grapefruit, and raspberry syrup. Interestingly, grapefruit juice works better for my tastes with Scotch than the Old Overholt did in the Blinker. Perhaps a sharper rye like Rittenhouse or Sazerac might give a more comparable end product or maybe it is something about Scotch itself.