Of Course You Can Reverse Your Rob Roy Too

Invert the proportions on your Scotch Manhattan.

We ended low-proof January with a Reverse Manhattan — essentially a Manhattan with the usual ratio of whiskey to vermouth flipped: Instead of two parts whiskey and one part sweet vermouth, the Reverse Manhattan is one part whiskey and two parts sweet vermouth. It’s simple, sweet, and even a little bit surprising.

So it probably won’t come as too much of a surprise to find that you can reverse your Rob Roy, too, since the Rob Roy is, after all, just a Manhattan with Scotch in place of bourbon or rye. 

As is the case with conventional Rob Roys, the trick with a Reverse Rob Roy is to properly pair your scotch and vermouth. My favorite Rob Roy combo — Cocchi di Torino sweet vermouth and Famous Grouse Scotch — works quite well, and relies on inexpensive, easy-to-find ingredients. But with the Cocchi di Torino in the lead, it’s quite berry forward, and it leans into the amplified sweetness of the inverted structure; indeed, it may come across as a bit too sweet for some.

That’s why my favorite Reverse Rob Roy combo is the far more muscular combo of the bitter-inflected Punt e Mes in the vermouth slot and the peaty, earthy, delightfully aggressive Ardbeg Ten Year in the Scotch slot. 

Punt e Mes is technically a vermouth, but it’s bitter enough that it reads almost like an amaro, giving this something like a Scotch-based Boulevardier vibe.

Ardbeg Ten, meanwhile, is the standard expression from what might be my single favorite Scotch distillery.

Ardbeg is an Islay Scotch in the boisterous and bullying mode. Fans of what is sometimes referred to as “difficult” Scotch tend to love it, but it isn’t for everyone: When you hear some Scotch skeptic exclaim, with a haggard look and some obvious revulsion at what he or she has just consumed, that a dram of Scotch whisky tastes like the dirt-flecked remnants of a particularly gnarly campfire, well…there’s a good chance that person is talking about Ardbeg.

All I can say is…yes. Very, very much yes. That’s just how I like it.

Many years ago, my wife picked up a bottle of Ardbeg after a tasting. I was new to Scotch, but I instantly fell for it. I’ve been a fan of Ardbeg ever since, and my Scotch collection is heavy on bottles from Islay, the small island where Ardbeg and other similarly exuberant Scotch whiskeys (such as Laphroaig) are made.

Ardbeg doesn’t pair easily, and thus it’s not common in cocktails. (It’s more of a sipping whisky than a mixing whisky.) But its cantankerous, delightfully intense flavor profile — heavy on peat, pepper, and brine, with hints of seaweed, garden soil, coal, vanilla, dried fruit, and licorice — makes for a great compliment to the bittersweet Punt e Mes.

These are big, loud flavors, and they make for a big, loud cocktail.

Reverse Rob Roy 

• 2 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters

• 1 ounce Ardbeg Ten Scotch whisky (or other Islay whisky, such as Laphroaig or Lagavulin)

• 2 ounces Punt e Mes sweet vermouth 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass.

2. Add ice, then stir until chilled. 

3. Strain into a coupe or Nick and Nora glass.

4. Garnish with an orange peel. 

Reverse Big Gal