August's Perfect Serve - Highland Summer

The Perfect Serve will titillate your tastebuds with a delicious whisky cocktail featured every month...

The Highland Summer cocktail takes inspiration from the history of Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery's visitor centre, its Perthshire roots and the ingredients of the season.

Previously having been the malting floor for the distillery, where the barley was prepared, the building was converted and in 2000 opened to the public as a new visitor centre. At the time, the only Dewar’s whisky served was the iconic Dewar’s White Label and in this cocktail it is this spirit that has been combined with Perthshire raspberries to celebrate the distillery's highland surroundings. Topped with peach soda to highlight the fruity notes of Dewar’s and make a refreshing, summery drink that toasts the next 25 years of the visitor centre.

Ingredients & Method:

• 35ml Dewar’s White Label
• 25ml Barley tea (pre-batch, 15ml scoop of roasted barley per 100ml of boiling water, steep for 10mins and then strain)
• 20ml fresh raspberry syrup (pre batch 1:1 ratio of white sugar and raspberries, macerate for 5 hours, stirring occasionally, then strain)
• Top with peach and jasmine soda
• Build in a highball glass, add ice and top with soda
• Spritz with lemon peel and twist to garnish

Making the raspberry syrup

• Put a small Tupperware container on the scales and zero the scales
• Add the raspberries to the tub and note the weight
• Add the same weight again in white sugar
• Place the lid on the tub and shake the mix well so the raspberries are well coated in sugar
• Leave for 5 hours (closed lid but not in the fridge), stirring occasionally, until the raspberries have dissolved into a thick syrup
• Strain the syrup a few times using a fine strainer

Making the barley tea

• Add barley tea to a jug, using the 15ml coffee scoops and count the number of scoops
• Multiply the number of scoops used by 100 to determine how much boiling water to add, e.g. 2 scoops = 200ml
• Leave the mixture to soak for 10 minutes
• Strain off the barley to be left with the tea

Find out more about Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery at its dedicated listing.