Smoke in a Suit — Islay Barrel Meets Gin
What You’ll Need:
A Deer Jimmy’s® bottle filled with clear gin and aged on Islay whisky barrel chips. After aging: dry vermouth, orange bitters, ice, a mixing glass, and a chilled coupe or martini glass.
Step One: Age with Attitude
This drink begins where few cocktails dare to go — in a cloud of peat smoke and coastal wildness. Start by filling your Deer Jimmy’s® bottle with a clean, botanical gin and drop it onto Islay barrel chips. Over the next few weeks, the gin will shift. The juniper softens. The sea creeps in. And the fire from those peat-soaked barrels leaves its mark. You’re building character, not just flavor.
Step Two: Embrace the Contrast
Once aged, your gin will smell like a windswept beach bonfire laced with herbs. It’s raw and refined at once. That’s the paradox of this cocktail — intensity in a tailored frame. You don’t tame the smoke. You just teach it manners. And that’s where the vermouth and bitters come in.
Step Three: Stir It Smooth
In your mixing glass, combine the aged gin with a small splash of dry vermouth. Add a couple dashes of orange bitters for a bright edge. Drop in ice and stir gently — slow circles that chill and blend without bruising. Strain into a cold, stemmed glass. The drink should look sharp, clear, and dangerous.
Step Four: Let the Smoke Speak
Take a moment before you sip. Let the aroma rise — salt, citrus, earth, smoke. The first taste is clean, then suddenly wild. A flash of juniper, followed by a wave of peat and dry oak. The finish is long, a little herbal, and confidently smoky. This isn’t a cocktail that whispers. It owns the room.
Suited Up, Smoked Out
Smoke in a Suit isn’t just a clever name. It’s a statement. A blend of gin’s classic clarity and Islay’s unruly fire. A cocktail that doesn’t apologize, doesn’t pander, and definitely doesn’t disappear. It’s for the drinker who knows balance comes not from removing the edges, but from shaping them.
