full windsor

1 oz Scotch (Buchanan's 12 Year Blended)
1 oz Applejack
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Dolin)
1/4 oz Benedictine
2 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with an orange twist.
Two Saturdays ago, Erick Castro posted a drink on Instagram called the Full Windsor that caught my eye. I never got around to making his drink when it was first published in the March 2014 Imbibe Magazine though. Since Scotch and apple brandy pair so well, I decided to give this recipe from Polite Provisions in San Diego a try and remedy this lapse. Once mixed, the Full Windsor's orange oil brightened the smoke with herbal notes aroma. Next, malt and grape in the sip led into a smoky whisky and apple swallow with an herbal and spice finish. Although the recipe reads like a Vieux Carré in structure, the flavors of the base spirits take the cocktail in a very different direction.