Slightly sour with a sweet hint of pomegranate dancing around a great rye whiskey! Add a good squeeze of fresh lemon and a dash or two of orange bitters and you’ve got a delightful and gorgeous cocktail ready to toast the holiday!
This is a beautiful cocktail that first debuted in the 1920s. It’s a delicious beverage created in Paris during the days of Prohibition. Scofflaw is a rather unusual name for a drink. Its name came from a term coined during a contest held in the 1920s and intended as a reference to any individual who chose to forgo the law of the land and “scoff at the law”.
Start with a good rye whiskey then shake in some vermouth, fresh lemon juice, grenadine, a dash or two of orange bitters and for an extra punch of that fruity taste – a splash of pomegranate liqueur!
My preference for the whiskey is Hudson Maple Cask Rye Whiskey. It’s an exquisite rye whiskey aged in the same barrels used to age maple syrup. The bold flavor holds true in cocktails without an overwhelming presence.
The original recipe calls for dry vermouth and there is no mention of pomegranate liqueur. I used sweet vermouth and loved the result, but you can use your favorite. And I happened to have pomegranate liqueur on hand and since it’s still the holidays, I thought why not – it gives a nice boost to the pomegranate flavors in found in grenadine.
If you are entertaining a group, you can mix up a batch minus the ice and stash it in the fridge. Then when you’re ready to serve, simply pour it up and give it a good shake over ice until it’s well chilled.
Here’s to a marvelous old cocktail and a wonderful way to spread some Christmas cheer!
The Scofflaw Cocktail
8 tablespoons good rye whiskey, such as Hudson Maple Cask Rye
4 tablespoons sweet vermouth
3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons grenadine
4 tablespoons pomegranate liqueur
⅛ teaspoon orange bitters
Ice for shaking
Pour the rye whiskey and the vermouth into a cocktail shaker.
Add the lemon juice along with the grenadine, pomegranate liqueur and the orange bitters. Fill the shaker with ice, cover and shake vigorously until the cocktail is very cold.
Strain into coupe cocktail glasses.
Makes two 6-ounce cocktails or three 4-ounce cocktails.
The Scofflaw
Equipment
- cocktail shaker
- 4 ounce or 6 ounce coupe cocktail glasses
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons good rye whiskey, such as Hudson Maple Cask Rye
- 4 tablespoons sweet vermouth
- 3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons grenadine
- 4 tablespoons pomegranate liqueur
- ⅛ teaspoon orange bitters
- Ice for shaking
Instructions
- Pour the rye whiskey into a cocktail shaker.
- Add the vermouth along with the lemon juice, grenadine, pomegranate liqueur and the orange bitters.
- Fill the shaker with ice, cover and shake vigorously until the cocktail is very cold.
- Strain into coupe cocktail glasses.
