Active Time

　　10 minutes

　　Total Time

　　10 minutes

　　This winter cocktail is a cross between a Penicillin and a French 75. I’ve always thought that the Penicillin, with its ginger and honey, was the perfect whiskey sour for winter—and that many sparkling cocktails felt too light and springy for the colder months. I dubbed this tribute the Fleming Fizz in honor of Sir Alexander Fleming, the Scottish scientist who discovered penicillin antibiotics.  

　　When made at Russell House Tavern in Boston and featured in my book, Boston Cocktails: Drunk and Told, I used two separate syrups that were already behind the bar, but here, the recipe is adapted for easier mixing at home.

　　This is a bold, spicy cocktail for Scotch lovers—if you prefer your ginger a little less pungent, add ¼ cup additional water and ¼ cup additional honey to the syrup. Extra syrup is excellent for sweetening tea, a hot toddy, or cocoa.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 1 cocktail

　　

Ginger Honey Syrup

½ cup roughly chopped peeled ginger (70 g / 2½ oz.)

　　½ cup honey

　　

Cocktail

1½ oz. blended Scotch

　　¾ oz. fresh lemon juice

　　¾ oz. Ginger-Honey Syrup

　　2 oz. chilled sparkling wine

　　

To Serve

½ tsp. smoky Scotch, such as Laphroaig

　　Lemon twist and candied ginger on a pick

　　

Ginger Honey Syrup

Step 1

Combine ginger and ½ cup water in a blender and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a liquid measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract juice. Pour ½ cup of the ginger juice into a large resealable jar and stir in honey. (If you’d like to tone down the ginger a bit, add additional ¼ cup honey and ¼ cup water.) Seal jar tightly and shake until honey is completely dissolved (or rinse out blender and blend ginger juice and honey together to mix.) Makes enough for 10 cocktails. Syrup will keep 2 weeks in the refrigerator; shake well before using.

　　

Cocktail

Step 2

Combine blended Scotch, lemon juice, and Ginger-Honey Syrup in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake until well chilled. Add sparkling wine to a flute glass, then strain cocktail into glass. Gently float smoky Scotch on top of drink. Garnish with lemon twist and candied ginger.