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The 3 Best Scotch Breakfast Cocktail Recipes to Kickstart Your Morning

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When you think of breakfast cocktails, you probably think of light, spritzy classics such as the mimosa, Bellini, or even the Bloody Mary. We love these traditional breakfast staples, but right now, we’ve been complementing our breakfast with an unconventional spirit — Scotch.

While Scotch is an odd beverage to drink in the morning, mixing it in a cocktail with the right ingredients makes the smoky whisky a fine pair to pancakes and eggs. That said, here are the best Scotch breakfast cocktail recipes you can make at home to supercharge your fall mornings and overcome your fear of mixing Scotch with other ingredients.

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Red Tartan

An ice-cold glass of Red Tartan on checkered tablecloth.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

On its own, whisky is probably too strong for most people to drink in the morning. Orange juice, on the other hand, is a boring mixer if you have an adventurous palate. So Conor Myers, the creative director of Underdog in New York City, decided to marry the two for an undeniably tasty concoction. “The Red Tartan is a perfect combo of them both,” he says. “We combine the Dewars with some OJ, Cherry Heering, and Punt e Mes with a big charge of blood orange soda for a nice refreshing highball. Now you have a breakfast worth Instagramming — all you need is some avo toast and a good filter!” To make the tastiest cocktail possible, be sure to use fresh-squeezed lime and orange juices.

Ingredients: 

  • 1.5 ounces Dewar’s Blended Scotch Whisky
  • .5 ounces Punt e Mes
  • .5 ounces Cherry Heering
  • 1 ounce orange juice
  • .25 ounces lime juice
  • .25 ounces sugar
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • Sanpellegrino blood orange soda to top
  • Nutmeg and a dehydrated orange wheel for garnish

Method:

  1. Add all ingredients, save for the Sanpellegrino and garnishes, to a shaker tin with ice.
  2. Shake and strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice.
  3. Top with the Sanpellegrino and garnish.

Miami Godfather

A refreshing glass of Miami Godfather on a table.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Located inside the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, the oceanfront restaurant and bar Lightkeepers serves coastal cuisine and craft cocktails in a gorgeous setting. Bartender Alexa Delgado created the Miami Godfather cocktail as an homage to Henry Morrison Flagler, an American industrialist who oversaw the construction of the Florida East Coast Railroad. This new mode of transportation paved the way for Miami’s evolution into the city it is today. Amaretto liqueur tempers the scotch, while fresh mango and lemon juice brighten the drink to give it a flavor that’s worthy of brunch-time poolside sipping.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 ounces Dewar’s Scotch
  • .75 ounces Disaronno Originale
  • .75 ounces lemon juice
  • .5 ounces fresh mango cubes or mango puree
  • Bourbon cherry for garnish
  • Mango peel for garnish

Method:

  1. If using fresh mango, muddle in a shaker first, then add all other ingredients, minus the garnishes. If using mango puree, combine all ingredients, save for the garnishes, in a shaker with ice.
  2. Shake and strain into a rocks glass.
  3. Add fresh ice and garnish with a mango peel and bourbon cherry.

Paradise Found

A close-up of Paradise Found on a blue coaster on a table.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Fruit and citrus are great ways to lighten scotch’s robust, smoky flavor without completely overpowering its bold, woody notes. “The scotch in this cocktail lends a smoky, debonair base for the other ingredients to flirt with,” says Eleanor Parker, beverage director of Atlas inside the St. Regis Atlanta.

Related

“Rhubarb bitters add salt, tartness, and florality, which livens the cocktail. The raspberry gives it a sweet, gentle fruitiness, and the lemon brightens the drink and marries all the flavors. In the end, it’s a refreshing, zippy cocktail with backbone.” If you want to make your own raspberry syrup at home, simply dissolve 2 cups of sugar in 1 cup of water in a saucepan over low heat. Add 1 cup of raspberries, and stir until they begin to break down. Strain the mix into a jar, and keep it in the refrigerator between uses.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 ounces Glenmorangie 10 Year
  • 1 ounce raspberry syrup
  • .5 ounces lemon juice
  • .5 ounces brown sugar
  • 2 dashes 18.21 rhubarb bitters

Method:

  1. Add all ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice.
  2. Shake vigorously for 10 seconds and strain into a rocks glass over large rock ice.
  3. Garnish with lime twist or a candied rhubarb spiral.

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Amanda Gabriele
Amanda Gabriele
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Amanda Gabriele is a food and travel writer at The Manual and the former senior editor at Supercall. She can’t live without…
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