Modern ClassicsFallWinter

Penicillin

Sam Ross, Milk & Honey, New York, 2005

The Penicillin is blended Scotch shaken with lemon, honey and fresh ginger, then floated with smoky Islay Scotch. Honey and ginger warm the throat, lemon brightens it, and the smoke drifts up with every sip. A soothing pick for spring allergy season.

  • GlassRocks
  • MethodShaken
  • Ingredients5
  • Prep10 min
  • DifficultyMedium
Penicillin

Ingredients

Making a batch?
Servings
A piece of candied gingerGarnish
Total volume—

Directions

  1. Shake the blended Scotch, lemon juice and both syrups with ice.
  2. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.
  3. Float the Islay Scotch on top.

ToolsJiggerShakerHawthorne strainerBar spoonBlenderRocks glass

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History

Sam Ross created the Penicillin at Milk & Honey in New York in 2005, using blended Scotch as the base and an Islay single malt as an aromatic float. It spread quickly among bartenders and is now considered one of the defining modern classics, served in bars around the world.

Making a batch? Scale it for a crowd, add dilution water, and see how many bottles to buy.
Quick sizes
How are you making it? ⓘ Batching includes dilution water. Pre-batched cocktails need added water to replace the melt from stirring or shaking. We use Jeffrey Morgenthaler's standard: 18% for spirit-forward drinks, 25% for shaken.

What you'll need to buy

Based on 750ml bottles (25.4 oz), rounded up.

Bottle math, generally

750ml bottle25.4 oz
2 oz pours per bottle12 cocktails
1.5 oz pours per bottle16 cocktails
1 oz =29.6 ml
This recipe per 750ml of spirit—

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