Recipe

• 2 parts Scotch whisky

• 1 part red vermouth

• A dash of Angostura bitters

Stir together with ice, and pour into a cocktail glass. Add a cherry.

Claire actually made this one for me, a unique reversal in a usually one-way cocktail-making street.  She did an excellent job, and produced a nice cocktail.

I've posted a few times about Manhattans and their variations (1 2 3 4) and I've experimented with different types of whisky.  In this, we abandon American whiskey entirely and opt purely for Scotch, a bold move that apparently pays off.  Being two thirds of the drink, it exhibits the flavour of the particular whisky in question very well (in this case, Famous Grouse) but also makes for something that's unquestionably a cocktail.

Perhaps one day I'll have the guts to use a single malt.  Hopefully the whisky police won't arrest me.

EDIT (2020-11-02): At Lydia's suggestion I did eventually try this with a nice clean single malt, Arran. It was nothing short of superb.