A Rob Roy with Bénédictine where the bitters would be, the Bobby Burns laces equal parts blended Scotch and sweet vermouth with honeyed spice and a whisper of incense from the brandy-based herbal liqueur. Stirred cold and served up, it drinks rich and warming, with oil from an expressed lemon twist lifting the sweetness off the malt.
Garnish: Lemon Peel
Stirred · Coupe · Up
add
Add the blended Scotch, sweet vermouth, and Bénédictine (Herbal Liqueur) to a mixing glass with ice.
stir
Stir for about 30 seconds until well chilled and properly diluted.
strain
Strain into a chilled coupe glass, served straight up.
express
Express a lemon twist over the surface and rim, then drop in or discard.
No single inventor is on record. The drink honours the Scottish poet Robert Burns and took shape over a string of recipes, first surfacing as the "Baby Burns" in the 1900 book Fancy Drinks. Between 1908 and 1914 it went by "Robert Burns" in versions calling for Irish whiskey and absinthe, then settled into the Scotch-based "Bobby Burns" by 1917. Craddock's 1930 Savoy recipe kept the whisky and vermouth in equal measure, a 1948 version swapped in Drambuie, and the drink went on to become a regular toast on Burns Night and Saint Andrew's Day.