Blended Scotch meets equal measures of dry and sweet vermouth in this stirred, spirit-forward drink, the two fortified wines bridging the malt's smoke and finding an easy chemistry between them. Two dashes of Angostura add spice and an expressed lemon peel lifts the aroma, so it drinks brighter and drier than a Rob Roy while keeping the same whisky-and-vermouth backbone.
Garnish: Lemon Peel
Stirred · Coupe · Up
add
Add the Scotch whisky, dry vermouth, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters to a mixing glass with ice.
stir
Stir well until properly chilled and diluted.
strain
Strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass.
express
Express a lemon peel over the surface and drop it in or discard.
No single inventor or bar can claim the Affinity — it emerged from American bartending culture in the early 1900s and settled into the same equal-parts form across several period books. The Buckstone Book of Cocktails, from around 1925, and Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930 both print it as Scotch with French and Italian vermouth in equal thirds, finished with Angostura and a squeeze of lemon peel. The International Bartenders Association named it among its original official cocktails in 1961, then cut it in the 1987 revision along with 23 other drinks.