Father’s Day is but a week and change away. If your pop (or husband or grandfather or brother or stepdad or uncle…) is an old-fashioned kind of guy with a modern twist, R.Aire in Hampton Bays has a cocktail for you.
What makes it a little modern? The addition of smoked duck fat (and a little extra for good measure!). It adds a little hit of richness, decadence and savory smokiness to this classic cocktail.
At R.Aire, they use an overnight process to smoke the whiskey, and the same effect can be achieved at home, too. Chef Alex Bujoreanu uses a Nomad whiskey, a clever collaboration between Scotland and Bujoreanu’s native Spain, where the whiskey is aged in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks (you can grab a bottle at Six Corners Fine Wines & Spirits in Westhampton Beach). You can indeed buy the man in your life a whiskey smoking kit, which cost anywhere from $40 to $150 — or you and Daddy-o can try adding your whiskey-duck fat combo to an air-tight glass container with a wide open top, burning a small section of a small, food-safe plank (hickory, cherry or oak work best) and immediately inverting the burning wood over the container and allowing it to sit for 30 seconds to a minute.
You have a little time to practice! So get smoking, kids.
R.Aire’s Smoked Old Fashioned
Ingredients
- 2 oz Nomad whiskey
- 1/2 oz maple syrup
- 3 dashes walnut bitters
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1/2 tsp plus 1 bassoon duck fat
Directions
To smoke the whiskey
- Combine the 1/2 teaspoon of duck fat with the whiskey in a glass. Reserve the remaining barspoon of duck fat.
- Gently torch the rosemary using a culinary torch or over a gas burner. Drop into the glass.
- Torch a small section of food-safe wood and place the smoking side over the glass. Allow to sit or 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove wood, cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator overnight.
- When ready to serve the cocktail, discard the rosemary and strain the mixture over a cheesecloth or fine mesh sieve.
To make the cocktail:
- Combine all liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir well, for about 10 to 15 seconds.
- Strain into a double rocks glass with a large-format ice cube.
- Gently drizzle the remaining barspoon of duck fat over the cocktail. Cheers, Dad!
