Two bottles, one glass. Soft, malty Scotch meets the sweet heat of green ginger wine, and the result warms from the throat down, with honey, dried fruit and fresh ginger on the finish.
1½ oz
blended Scotch whiskye.g. Johnnie Walker · Chivas Regal · Famous Grouse · Glenfiddich · Monkey Shoulder
1 oz
green ginger wine such as Stone'se.g. Stone's
Garnish: None · Ice: Ice cubes
Whisky Mac
Sweet, spicy and warming: honeyed malt from the Scotch, a lively ginger burn and a raisin-like fruitiness from the wine. Strong but very smooth.
The Whisky Mac is a traditional British drink, especially popular in Scotland and on the golf course or at winter sporting events. It is made with blended Scotch and green ginger wine, a fortified wine flavored with ginger, of which Stone's is the best-known brand.
A popular story says the name is short for Whisky Macdonald and honors Colonel Hector MacDonald, a Scottish officer said to have mixed it while serving in India. There is no solid evidence for that account, and the drink may simply owe its name to its Scottish character. What is clear is that it has been a fixture of British pubs for generations, often ordered as a warming nightcap.
A fortified wine flavored with ginger, sweet and spicy; Stone's Original Green Ginger Wine is the best-known brand.
Both ways are traditional. Over ice it is fresher, neat at room temperature it is warmer and more aromatic.
A smooth blended Scotch is the classic choice. Single malts work too, but avoid very smoky ones.
The perfect sound
Warming ginger on a misty Highland evening.
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