Food photography + a recipe: The hopped scotch
Food photography + a recipe
Welcome to a series where I like to show off some of my food photography work, but also share a recipe for you to enjoy.
Here’s what nobody tells you when you decide to grow hops: you have to have A LOT of patience. At least for the first couple years that is. But this long and slow process has given us an unexpected gift: The hopped scotch cocktail recipe.
I proudly planted my hops last summer, and approximately 2.5 seconds later caught my oldest dog Rita munching them down to the ground like a cow. Apparently hops are delicious and irresistible to our four-legged friends. Who knew?
The hops didn’t really recover after that unfortunate event, and I thought it was a wash. To my delight, some little sprigs appeared this spring, and the little bugger started to take off.
Here’s where hops lesson 2.0 came in though. They grow from rhizomes and need a year or two of growing before really taking off. My proud little vine twisted its way up the rope I tied to the top of the pergola, but I quickly realized, I’d only be getting a handful of hops this season.
I turned my teeny yield into a tasty scotch cocktail, compliments of a hopped honey syrup.
Not one to waste an opportunity (or unique ingredient) I put my thinking cap on to see what I could do with a couple ounces of the dried cones. Enter, The Hopped Scotch cocktail.
This tasty little number is made possible by hop honey simple syrup, and I’m already dreaming up other whiskey drink recipes I can make with it.
Think of this whiskey drink recipe as the sophisticated cousin to the ever beloved Manhattan cocktail recipe.
The Hopped Scotch cocktail is basically a riff on a manhattan recipe- subbing scotch for bourbon. I tried it with and without bitters, and to my surprise, I actually preferred it without. The hops flavor is mild in the simple syrup, plus the hops themselves add a touch of bitterness. If you do decide to add bitters, I’d suggest just a tiny dash.
I know, I know. Now your saying “well damn Sarah, I don’t grow my own hops because I’m not a maniac like you.” Totally cool. I get it. And that’s why I’d suggest ordering them from Mountain Rose Herbs. Where all good things like this come from.
It’s the perfect autumn whiskey drink to sip this time of year. Especially here in LA where it was a chilly 94 degrees today. Nothing says sweater weather like a 90 degree October day… amiright??
Hopped Scotch Whiskey Cocktail
ingredients
1 oz honey hop syrup (recipe below)
2 oz scotch whiskey
dash of angostura or grapefruit bitters (optional)
grapefruit peel
directions
Combine syrup, scotch and bitters in a cocktail shaker or large glass with ice and stir to combine until cold.
Transfer to a rocks or coup glass with one large ice cube. Gentle twist a piece of grapefruit peel over your glass, releasing the oils into your drink, and then rub the peel around the rim of your glass.
Garnish with the grapefruit peel and fresh hops cones if available.
honey hop syrup
ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup honey
1/4 cup hops (purchase here if not home grown)
directions
Combine water and honey in a sauce pan and bring to a soft boil, stirring to dissolve the honey. Take off heat and add hops to infuse until mixture has cooled.
Strain hops out of syrup and store in a jar or bottle in the refrigerator for up to a month.
