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Friday Cocktail Hour: The Rusty Nail

Published: Jun 26, 2020 · Modified: Jan 19, 2021 by Michael Ruhlman · 8 Comments

This past Sunday I was thinking about my dad, Rip, who died in 2008 and whom I miss every day. Yes, every single day. I was seven or eight when, one Christmas after dinner, I asked to taste what was in that teensy wine glass he was drinking from. He said "Drambuie" and asked if I'd like a taste. I said yes. I would eventually taste his martini, which was naaaasty. That night he handed me his cordial glass. I tasted. This Drambuie astonished with its sweetness and the way just a drop of it seemed to bloom in my mouth, an actual expanding cloud of flavor. I'd never tasted or experienced anything like it. I asked for more.

From then on, every Christmas I'd get a wee dram of Drambuie and would take the smallest of sips to let them expand in my mouth and make it last as long as possible. I come from a thorough middle-class WASP family which loved and still loves its cocktails (thus the FCH!). When my Grandma Rose, my father's mother, saw little me served a small cordial glass of Drambuie, she nodded sagely and said, "You're going to be a Scotch drinker." Her version of the Hogwarts Sorting Hat.

It was my father, who, once I was of age, introduced me to The Rusty Nail, this heady blend of Scotch Whiskey and Darmbuie, sweet and powerful. It was never a pre-dinner cocktail in my parents house—that was exclusively the gin martini. The Rusty Nail was rather the best nightcap ever. (Does anyone know why they're called nightcaps, instead of, say, The Cocktail You Really Don't Need and Will Be Better Off Without Come Morning?)

The Rusty Nail is a great cocktail, and one you really can't mess up. I recommend starting with the standard ratio, 2 parts Scotch, 1 part Drambuie. But for some that maybe too sweet. If so, add a little more whiskey. Laphroaigh was my dad's favorite single malt—but he was too frugal to use this sipping whiskey for cocktail. He'd only have used the cheap stuff. Which I can no longer bear. Some people call a Rusty Nail made with a peaty/smokey whiskey a Smokey Nail, which I kind of like.

This cocktail is always served on the rocks; ,because the drink is so strong, the dilution is welcome. For special guests, my dad would send our cubes through a countertop ice crusher (a truly vintage fifties or sixties appliance‚ I wish we still had it).

Cheers, post-100-days in quarantine, and happy Friday!

How to make a Rusty Nail, one of my dad's (above) favorite cocktails. (A video by Annabelle Mei Adrain and Katherine Guanche.)

The Rusty Nail

Classic scotch and drambuie cocktail
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 minute min
Course Cocktail
Cuisine American
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ounces scotch
  • 1 ounce Drambuie
  • 1 lemon or orange twist (optional, thought a true cocktail requires at least 3 ingredients)

Instructions
 

  • Combine liquor in an old-fashioned glass. Add ice (and twist, if you wish).

Notes

This is the classic proportion. But if you find it too sweet, add more whiskey! I've seen recipes that are 4 parts scotch to one part Drambuie. I'm not a fan of blended scotch, so here I used laphroaigh, one of my favorite whiskeys, famously peaty. Use whatever scotch whiskey you prefer. Change it to Bourbon and it's a Rusty Bob!
Keyword cocktail, drambuie, rusty nail, scotch
« Homemade Bagels Are Easy
Friday Cocktail Hour: The Paloma (a variation) »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Allen

    June 26, 2020 at 6:31 pm

    Very touching. The poem not the drink.
    Love any smokey Islay, but I limit myself to a sip during wintertime, friggin geezer brain can’t handle it.

    There’s an extra h in the key word search for scotch

    Reply
    • Michael Ruhlman

      June 27, 2020 at 3:31 pm

      fixed, thanks

      Reply
  2. Stephanie

    June 27, 2020 at 12:49 pm

    5 stars
    Lovely reading. My husband overheard and was touched. Our son is almost 10. Imagine being a child in quarantine, and being unphased by summer camp wearing a mask. I've never had a rusty nail, and shall run to the store today to buy the ingredients for that nightcap - the good stuff. Thank you for these videos and blogs. You seem very happy. 🙂

    Reply
    • Michael Ruhlman

      June 27, 2020 at 3:31 pm

      Thanks Stephanie.

      Reply
  3. Stephanie Senerchia

    June 27, 2020 at 8:25 pm

    Brilliant. Both your writing and Donald Hall's. Just ordered a book of his and also bought the makings of your cocktail - my husband, an infectious diseases physician - and I are excited to try this. We have never tried this. (My husband spent many years in Cleveland, both in residency and working at Cleveland Clinic. I met him in RI, now we are in MA). Love your writing. I write but am not confident in myself. Love you and Ann and your blogs and videos. Thank you for putting them out there!!!

    Reply
    • Michael Ruhlman

      June 28, 2020 at 3:17 pm

      thanks for taking the time to write stephanie!

      Reply
  4. Matej Jaraba

    July 22, 2020 at 6:21 am

    I have tried this recipe to my private dinner party at http://www.bistronomy.net it is really good way to try nice scotch

    Reply
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    August 05, 2020 at 6:25 pm

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Hi, I'm Michael Ruhlman, an award-winning author and cook who writes about chefs, food and cooking, among other things.

More about me →

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

See my books!

Ratio App for iPhone

After I wrote my book Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, a colleague and I built a ratio calculator for iPhones that allows you to cook without recipes. For doughs, batters, custards, sauces, stocks and more, simply plug in the amount of one ingredient and the amounts of the other ingredients are instantly calculated. It's also a handy reference for dozens of our most common preparations. ($4.99 in the app store.)

Collaborate

I’ve collaborated on a dozen books, including cookbooks and a memoir. If you'd like to collaborate on a project, please contact my agent, Gail Hochman, [email protected], at Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc.

For speaking engagements contact, Kip Ludwig, [email protected].

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