rusty nail cocktail origin

zurich23555 April 28, 2023 Comment

Some spirits are inevitably connected to a specific cocktail. But sometimes you do them a little wrong, because they’re not always exclusively used in that certain drink. Nevertheless, history has led to drink and spirit being inseparable. Exactly, this is the case between Drambuie and the Rusty Nail cocktail.

Drambuie is a Scottish liqueur made from Scotch whisky, honey and various herbs. Although it might not be one of the most used ingredients behind the bar, you can certainly create many interesting things with Drambuie, because its aroma is quite unique and can work as a distinctive sweetening agent in many recipes. But no cocktail is as closely linked to the Drambuie as the Rusty Nail. The history of Drambuie is a very Scottish one; it tells that the liqueur was originally owned by the Scottish crown as a royal favorite of Charles Edward III. Stuart. It was Charles Edward III. Stuart who gave the recipe for the liqueur to one of his loyal fellows after a battle.

Nonetheless, the Rusty Nail is an American invention. But even that is not entirely secured and entwined by many legends. Some of them were made popular by the guys in the Drambuie marketing section themselves to help promote the liqueur in connection with the famous cocktail. This includes, for example, the legend of the two brothers Rusty and Dusty Nail that should have fought a pistol duel in 1799 in a dispute over the authorship of the drink.

Kitchen Riffs: The Rusty Nail Cocktail

Others know to tell that Scottish bartenders allegedly stirred the cocktail with rusty nails to mock unwelcomed American customers. It is most likely, however, that the cocktail first became popular in the US in the 1950s after it was invented in 1937 by a bartender named F. Benniman. The drink was likely named Rusty Nail because of its light rust coloration (though some say that it’s often smoky, strong and austere flavor also triggers some association with a rusty nail).

Aromatically the drink is actually a very well-rounded experience and perhaps also worth an attempt to enjoy smoky Islay Whiskies even for those which think of Islay Whisky as being too strong or intense. In the Rusty Nail, the smoky character of Scotch connects very skillfully with the full-bodied, sweet notes of Drambuie. A smoky & spicy revelation. And all so simple.

Although no specific Scotch is required for preparation, I join the indefinite majority of drinkers and propagate the use of a rather smoky whisky. Mostly I use a 12-year-old Bowmore, or – if I really want to go for it – a 10-year-old Laphroaig. Anyway, a good Blended Scotch also works very well.

Drambuie Cocktails: How To Use Drambuie

Garnish: none (though some serve it with a rusty nail on the side. Anyway, don’t give in to stir your drink with it.)A rusty nail is a cocktail made by mixing Scotch whisky with Drambuie in a 1:1 to 2:1 ratio. A rusty nail is most commonly served on the rocks in an old-fashioned glass (a.k.a. a rocks glass), although it can also be served "up" in a stemmed glass. Its origin goes back to the 1937 British Industries Fair, but it did not become popular until the 1950s dorsemt by New York's Club 21 and its recognition by popular culture as the go-to cocktail of the Rat Pack a decade later.

According to cocktail historian David Wondrich, "...the Rusty Nail took a while to find its proper place in the world". The combination of Drambuie—"the world's most distinguished Scotch-based liqueur"—and the whisky it is made from first appears in 1937 in the form of the B.I.F., credited to one F. Bniman and ostsibly named after the British Industries Fair.

Wondrich goes on to note that. "it took another geration or so for the drink to assume its classic name and form, during which time it tried on several idtities. Here it's a D&S...there a Little Club No. 1 (the Little Club being a rather swank sort of joint on East Fifty-fifth Street much haunted by showbiz types); at USAF Officers' Clubs in Thailand and the Republic of Viet-Nam, [sic] it's a Mig-21, while in the upper Midwest it's a Knucklehead."

How To Make A Rusty Nail

The cocktail authority Dale DeGroff said "the Rusty Nail is oft credited to the clever bartders at the 21 Club in Manhattan sometime in the early 1960s"

The cocktail's name was finally cemted in 1963, wh Gina MacKinnon, the chairwoman of the Drambuie Liqueur Company, gave the rusty nail her dorsemt in The New York Times.

DeGroff reported that in the early 1960s "...the Rat Pack was amored of the drink, which may have be responsible for the wide appeal in those years..."Dale DeGroff is known for having sparked the modern cocktail renaissance while helming the bar program at the Rainbow Room in the 1980s and ’90s.

What Is Drambuie Liqueur?

For decades, one of the hottest cocktails was the Rusty Nail. But after a good run, the simple combination of scotch and the scotch-based liqueur Drambuie, a word derived from Gaelic meaning “the drink that satisfies, ” has fallen off most bar menus and is rarely ordered by patrons.

Just as mystifying as its disappearance was its appearance in the first place. The lineage of the potent after-dinner libation is contested, with many believing it was invented in 1937 for the British Industries Fair trade show. It does appear in the 1967 edition of “Old Mister Boston Official Bartender’s Guide, ” the cocktail book of record through the post-Prohibition 20th century. (A similar drink, dubbed the Little Club #1, is included in Ted Saucier’s 1951 “Bottoms Up.”)

By the late 1960s, bars in New Orleans and New York were serving the concoction, and “Have you tried a Rusty Nail?” was a common refrain. The Rusty Nail is often credited to the clever bartenders at the 21 Club in Manhattan sometime in the early 1960s. It makes sense, being that the establishment created the famous B & B—half Bénédictine and half cognac—as well. It’s easy to imagine that the talented crew applied the same formula to another cordial and , but I haven’t been able to substantiate that claim.

How To Make A Rusty Nail Cocktail Drink

Lore has it that the Rat Pack was enamored with the drink, which may have been responsible for the wide appeal in those years. In the 1970s, I mixed many a Rusty Nail at the joints I worked at in New York. They were also a hit at P.J. Clarke’s, a favorite late-night haunt of Frank Sinatra.

As with lots of classics, the recipe varies widely. Ted Haigh, the author of “Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, ” likes two parts scotch to one part Drambuie; “Old Mister Boston” calls for a one-to-one ratio; and many modern versions are far drier, with some suggesting four parts whisky to one part liqueur. You could also substitute bourbon for scotch and get a Rusty Spike. But the Rusty Nail is a classic for a reason, and the two-to-one ratio will always be a fine example of the drink.