Picture your favourite spot at home. Edit out the worst wear and tear, apply needle to record, and add a butler, discreet in the shadows thrown by the log fire. This is where you drink the Truffle Blazer.
Ingredients:
6-8 fresh redcurrants
50ml Ballantine’s 12 Year Old
10ml Lillet Blanc
10ml white port (try Niepoort’s Dry White Rabbit; the savouriness complements the drink’s smoky aromas)
¼ tsp truffle honey (also rather good in marinades)
Method:
- The first step is to smoke the glass. Light a match and shake it out, then invert the glass on top of the match head on a flat surface. You’ll see smoke building up inside.
- Add the currants to a cocktail mixer or sturdy tall glass and hurt them a bit with a muddler. They should be bruised, not bashed.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir well.
- Add 5-6 ice cubes and continue stirring.
- Strain the mixed drink into the cognac glass and settle back for the afternoon.
This cocktail recipe is by Ballantine’s brand ambassador, Fredrik Olsson, who’s been creating similar treats to show off the company’s latest Artist Series. This year’s designs are the result of giving Australian photographer/videographer David Ma (he of Rudimental fame) free rein with a helicopter and camera 10,000ft above the Highlands. Scotland, but not as you know it.