Who says classic cocktails have to have been born before Prohibition, or in the early years afterward? The canon of classic cocktails includes several modern-day mixables, like the Paper Plane, Espresso Martini, Cosmopolitan and Oaxaca Old Fashioned.
One bar that was a clutch spot during the modern cocktail revolution was the venerable Milk & Honey in Manhattan, founded by Sasha Petraske. Here, new drinks were invented and old ones improved upon, or perhaps simply brought back to the fore.
One of those originals was the Gold Rush, an excellent take on a classic Whiskey Sour, subbing honey syrup for simple syrup (both of which are far better modifiers than straight up sugar or honey, both of which are a little difficult to dilute in their raw form).
This season, Calissa (1020 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, 631-500-9292) offers up this version of their own, taking the syrup-making step out of the equation by employing Amber & Opal Honey Botanical Whiskey, a flavored rye infused with honey from the likes of rapper and actor Ja Rule, who’ll be hosting a bar take-over at the Greek restaurant and dance spot on June 13.
If you can’t make it to Calissa, give this Whiskey Sour riff a shake. Kind of like changing over your winter clothes to summer, it’s a sip-tastic seasonal transfer of whiskey from winter to summer. Holla-holla, Hamptons.
Amber Rush
Ingredients
- 2 oz Amber & Opal Honey Botanical Whiskey
- 3/4 oz agave syrup
- 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1 lemon peel, for garnish
Directions
- In a shaker with ice, combine all liquid ingredients.
- Shake until well-chilled, about 10 to 15 seconds.
- Strain over a large king cube in a double old-fashioned glass.
- Garnish with the lemon peel. Cheers!
