Most of the great whisky-and-vermouth cocktails are American. The Manhattan, the Rob Roy, the Boulevardier. The Bobby Burns is a different beast: a Manhattan-shaped drink built around blended Scotch and a small pour of Benedictine, named for Robert Burns, the Scottish poet. It first appears in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), and David Embury, in his 1948 cocktail guide, called it one of the very few Scotch cocktails worth drinking. He was not wrong.

Ingredients

  • 45ml blended Scotch whisky
  • 30ml sweet red vermouth
  • 7.5ml (a barspoon) Benedictine
  • 2 dashes orange bitters
  • Lemon peel to garnish

Method

  1. Combine all liquids in a chilled mixing glass.
  2. Add ice and stir for 25 to 30 seconds, until the glass is cold.
  3. Strain into a chilled coupe.
  4. Express a lemon peel over the surface and drop it in.

Why Benedictine, not honey or sugar

Benedictine is a French herbal liqueur with a honeyed body and a long list of botanicals (27 of them, allegedly). A barspoon does two jobs at once. It sweetens, the way sugar in an Old Fashioned does, and it adds a herbal undertone that meets blended Scotch halfway. Use honey instead and you get a softer, simpler drink. Use sugar and you get a Rob Roy in disguise. The Benedictine is the whole reason this cocktail has its own name.

Which Scotch

Blended, not single malt. The Bobby Burns wants a Scotch with grain whisky in it; the smoothness keeps the Benedictine from sitting on top. A budget blended bottling actually shines here, because the vermouth and Benedictine fill in the corners. Save the peated Islay for a Penicillin.

Where it comes from

The Bobby Burns first appears in print in Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, though the drink had likely been circulating in London bars for a decade earlier, named in honour of Robert Burns (1759 to 1796), Scotland's national poet. The cocktail was part of an interwar fashion for Manhattan variations using non-American whiskies, alongside the Rob Roy and the Blood and Sand. David Embury later singled it out in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948) as one of the few Scotch cocktails worth ordering, which kept it in print when many of its peers disappeared.

In Petaling Jaya the Bobby Burns tends to be a Manhattan drinker's discovery, ordered when a guest wants to step sideways from American whiskey into something gentler. It pairs well with aged cheese or a heavy Western dessert, and works as a quiet alternative to the Rob Roy for guests who like Drambuie but want it less sweet.

Variations

Highland Cocktail: use angostura instead of orange bitters and a Scotch with a touch of smoke. A darker, broodier cousin.

Rusty Burns: half-swap the Benedictine for Drambuie. Honey notes climb. The drink reads sweeter and rounder.

Related

Frequently asked questions

What glass is the Bobby Burns served in?

A chilled coupe, stirred long and strained up. The dark amber colour shows best in a wide shallow bowl. A nick and nora also works for a more compact pour. Some bars serve over a large rock; we prefer up to keep the proportions tight and the Benedictine honey-note focused.

Can I substitute the Benedictine?

Drambuie is the closest substitute (sweeter, more honeyed, makes the drink read like a Rusty Burns variant). Honey syrup gives you a softer, simpler drink that loses the herbal undertone. Sugar makes it into a Rob Roy. Yellow Chartreuse is too herbal-intense. Benedictine is the whole reason this cocktail has its own name; try not to substitute.

How strong is the Bobby Burns?

Strong. About 26 to 30 percent ABV in the glass after stir-dilution. The 45ml of blended Scotch (40 percent) is the base, with 30ml sweet vermouth (15 to 17 percent) and a small pour of Benedictine (40 percent) adding weight. Spirit-forward; sip slowly.

Where can I order a Bobby Burns in PJ or KL?

At Dissolved Solids (Damansara Kim, 43-1 Jalan SS20/11, Tue-Sun 15:00 to 01:00, WhatsApp +60 11-4008 7607) or Soluble Solids (SS2, 50-1 Jalan SS2/24, Wed-Sun 18:00 to 01:00, WhatsApp +60 11-1682 8651). Both stock Benedictine and blended Scotch. A quiet Manhattan-drinker order; tell the bartender if you want it leaner or sweeter.

What food pairs with the Bobby Burns?

Rich Western desserts and aged cheese. Sticky toffee pudding, treacle tart, blue cheese with honey, aged Cheddar. Also pairs with smoked salmon as an aperitif. The Benedictine's honeyed-herbal note bridges into roasted lamb or game. Avoid spicy Asian food; the Scotch fights the chilli.