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Smoky Peat

By Joe Gitter

Published on November 23, 2025

Time

10 minutes

Yield

Makes 1 cocktail

Smoky Peat

Ingredients

1½ ounces bourbon ½ ounce Scotch ½ ounce sweet vermouth ½ ounce maraschino liqueur

Before You Begin

While we like Islay Scotch to reinforce the smoky flavor, the cocktail is still tasty, if less smoky, using other styles of Scotch.

Instructions

  1. Add 1½ ounces bourbon, ½ ounce Scotch, ½ ounce sweet vermouth, and ½ ounce maraschino liqueur to mixing glass, then fill three-quarters full with ice. Using bar spoon, stir until mixture is just combined and chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain cocktail into chilled rocks glass half filled with ice or containing 1 large ice cube. Serve.
Smoky Peat
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Christine Tobin.

Smoky Peat

Headshot of Joe Gitter
By Joe Gitter

Published on November 23, 2025

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Time

10 minutes

Yield

Makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients

1½ ounces bourbon
½ ounce Scotch
½ ounce sweet vermouth
½ ounce maraschino liqueur

Ingredients

1½ ounces bourbon
½ ounce Scotch
½ ounce sweet vermouth
½ ounce maraschino liqueur

Ingredients

1½ ounces bourbon
½ ounce Scotch
½ ounce sweet vermouth
½ ounce maraschino liqueur

Why This Recipe Works

The right amount of smoke can elevate and season a cocktail in the same way that salt can complete a dish. Here we blend the mellow, caramelly, charred notes of bourbon with an assertively smoky Scotch. We prefer blended Islay Scotch here; it’s generally on the smokier side thanks to the burning peat used to dry barley in its malting process. The maraschino liqueur and the sweet vermouth combine to form a complex, rounded profile.

Before You Begin

While we like Islay Scotch to reinforce the smoky flavor, the cocktail is still tasty, if less smoky, using other styles of Scotch.

Instructions

  1. Add 1½ ounces bourbon, ½ ounce Scotch, ½ ounce sweet vermouth, and ½ ounce maraschino liqueur to mixing glass, then fill three-quarters full with ice. Using bar spoon, stir until mixture is just combined and chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain cocktail into chilled rocks glass half filled with ice or containing 1 large ice cube. Serve.

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