Penicillin
Honey, ginger, lemon and Scotch, with something peaty floated on top so you get the smoke before you get the drink. Tastes like a remedy, drinks like a cocktail.
That float matters more than it looks. Pour it gently and it stays a layer you meet first — stir it in and you’ve made something else entirely.
Penicillin
Rocks · Large cube
Ingredients
- 2 ozBlended Scotch
- ¾ ozFresh lemon juice
- ¾ ozHoney-ginger syrup (instructions below)
- ¼ ozIslay Scotch (float)
- garnishCandied ginger
Method
- 1Combine 1 cup honey and ½ cup water in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
- 2Add 6–8 thick slices of fresh unpeeled ginger.
- 3Stir until honey dissolves, 3–4 minutes. Do not boil.
- 4Remove from heat, steep 20 minutes, fine-strain, and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
- 5Combine blended Scotch, fresh lemon juice, and honey-ginger syrup in a shaker.
- 6Add ice and shake hard for 12 seconds.
- 7Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
- 8Float Islay Scotch by pouring slowly over the back of a bar spoon.
- 9Garnish with candied ginger on a pick.
Honey-Ginger Syrup
Build
History
Invented by Sam Ross at Milk & Honey in New York City in 2005, the Penicillin is widely regarded as the most significant original cocktail of the 21st century. Drawing on classic Scotch sour traditions and the Bee's Knees honey template, Ross created a drink that elevated blended Scotch while showcasing Islay's smoky character as a dramatic counterpoint. It appears in *Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails* and has become a staple of serious cocktail menus worldwide.
The Islay float is both aesthetic and functional — you encounter smoke and peat on the nose before the sweeter base, creating a more complex drinking experience. Use Laphroaig 10 or Ardbeg for the float; their medicinal intensity is the point. Make the honey-ginger syrup in a full batch — it keeps for two weeks and the Penicillin is worth making often.
