We’ve taken the best bits of our favourite flaky, pistachio-flavoured pastry and turned it into a cocktail.
About the cocktail
There’s a winning formula we can’t resist when it comes to creating new cocktails: take a dessert we know and love, and turn it into a delicious drink. We’ve seen it with the Negroni that tastes like toffee, a doughnut-flavoured creamy Martini and a milkshake-style cocktail inspired by Toblerone. Now, we’ve given a pistachio-filled classic the cocktail treatment with the Baklava Old Fashioned. Baklava, if you’ve never had the pleasure, is a sweet and crispy pistachio pastry popular everywhere from North Africa to Central Asia, the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe. The beauty of baklava is in its buttery layers of flaky filo pastry and sweet, nutty interior. Here, the traditional Old Fashioned mix of bourbon, sugar syrup and bitters has been switched up with Scotch whisky, honey and rose water. The biscuity notes of Scotch whisky (more on that in the our tips below) make a great substitute for the classic filo pastry, while the addition of pistachio liqueur brings the creamy, nutty sweetness that we love so much in baklava. We’re recommending a baklava garnish here, which would make the cocktail a very self-contained pairing, but it would also work as part of an afternoon-tea spread. Gather all your favourite biscuits and pastries (Scotch fingers, almond croissants, yo-yos – whatever you like) and consider the Baklava Old Fashioned a much-needed upgrade on the classic pot of tea.
Ingredients
40mL Paesano Pistachio Liqueur
20mL Scotch whisky 10mL honey 2 dashes rose water Glass: rocks Garnish: baklava
Method
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice Stir until chilled and diluted Strain into your glass over a large ice block Garnish with a piece of baklava
Dan’s top tips
The traditional Old Fashioned is one of the easiest cocktails to make and, as long as you’ve got the right ingredients on hand, so is the Baklava Old Fashioned. The big decision to make with these ingredients is which Scotch whisky to use. Our cocktail experts tried a few combinations and found that Johnnie Walker Black Label has the sort of buttery, biscuity character that works perfectly as a substitute for the filo pastry in a proper baklava. You can, of course, use your favourite Scotch here, but it’s probably best to avoid anything particularly peaty, which might overpower the more subtle flavours. And while the aromatic ingredient of rose water is perfectly at home here among the Turkish and central Asian flavours of baklava, just know that it can be quite strong, so use it sparingly. Two drops should be plenty.
image credits: Kayla May (photography), Bridget Wald (styling).
