When the weather turns cold and happy hour rolls around, everyone reaches for the old reliables: the hot toddy, an Irish coffee, a great Manhattan. But this past fall, a less familiar drink began stalking my social feeds and popping up on the menu of about every cozy bar I visited: the Penicillin.
At first glance, this Scotch-based cocktail might seem like it's been around forever—smoky, spicy and bright, the kind of complex beverage you can imagine being poured in a 1950s noir film. But the Penicillin is actually much younger than that, invented only in 2005. And today, it's still winning fans thanks to its old soul.
Courtesy Jeanette Donnarumma
I tend to be a bourbon devotee in winter, so this Scotch cocktail wasn’t exactly on my radar—until curiosity got the better of me and I made my first Penicillin at home. Then I understood the hype. Consider me a convert.
For more on the story behind my new favorite adult winter beverage, I spoke with Sam Ross, the award-winning bartender who created the Penicillin (along with another hit drink, the Paper Plane) while working at the pioneering New York City cocktail bar Milk & Honey in the early aughts. Ross gave Parade an expert breakdown of what makes this drink work, plus all the tips you need to shake up the perfect Penicillin for your next happy hour.
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The Penicillin is a shaken cocktail that combines Scotch whisky, fresh lemon juice and honey-ginger syrup, all finished with a float of smoky Scotch whisky. Says Ross, who today is the co-owner of the cocktail bar Attaboy: "The Penicillin is nuanced and intricate enough to satisfy the staunchest of whisky drinkers, but its light citrus, spicy ginger and rich honey notes allow for a non-whisky drinker to enjoy one—and probably a second one too."
Ross first developed the Penicillin while tinkering with another of Milk & Honey's cocktails, a bourbon-honey drink known as the Gold Rush. "I subbed out the bourbon for [blended scotch] and split the sweetening component between honey syrup and our house-made spicy ginger syrup," he recalls. The result was close but imperfect. "It was tasty but still lacking something," Ross tells Parade.
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That missing element arrived in the form of a smoky float: a splash of Compass Box Peat Monster blended malt Scotch whisky layered atop the base drink. "It was the perfect antidote," he says. "The fierce smoke dissipated once you took your first sip and mellowed into a lightly spiced whisky sour.” Customers lined up to try it.
From there—helped along by the early-2000s rise of social media—the Penicillin spread quickly. “This was the start of when bartenders could share recipes with other bartenders in different cities and countries very easily,” Ross explains. Consulting work followed, carrying the Penicillin west to Los Angeles, San Diego and beyond just as the craft cocktail scene was beginning to boom.
In the end, the Penicillin didn’t just bridge the gap between whisky lovers and skeptics; it showed how an inspired tweak could turn a good drink into a modern classic.
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Ingredients Needed To Make a Penicillin Cocktail
Courtesy Jeanette Donnarumma
To make one Penicillin cocktail, you'll need:
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice¾ oz. honey-ginger syrup (see recipe below)2 oz. of a basic, not-too-fancy blended Scotch whisky, like Monkey Shoulder or The Famous Grouse¼ oz. of a bold, smoky Scotch whisky, like Compass Box Peat Monster, Laphroaig 10, or any strongly peated Scotch whisky distilled on the island of IslayLemon peel and/or candied ginger for garnish, if desiredHoney-ginger syrup recipe: Boil 1 cup of water in a small saucepan. Add 1 cup honey, stirring until heated through and fully combined. Remove from heat. Stir in 4 tablespoons peeled, roughly chopped fresh ginger and allow the mixture to cool. Strain syrup into a clean airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
If you want or need a quicker honey-ginger syrup, add a mix of 3 parts honey, 1 part ginger juice and a splash of hot water to a cocktail shaker and give it a shake until everything is mixed. This method worked well for me.
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How To Make a Penicillin Cocktail
Courtesy Jeanette Donnarumma
Once your honey-ginger syrup is ready, this drink takes just a couple of minutes to prep.
In a shaker filled with ice cubes, combine your not-too-fancy blended Scotch, lemon juice and honey-ginger syrup. Cover and shake vigorously until the mixture is very cold.
Courtesy Jeanette Donnarumma
Strain into a rocks glass over ice and gently float the smoky Scotch on top. Garnish with a toothpick of candied ginger and/or a lemon peel. Cheers!
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My Honest Thoughts About the Penicillin Cocktail
Courtesy Jeanette Donnarumma
After finally trying this drink myself—and then texting my group chat to announce that I'd found our new favorite winter drink—let's just say I get it. The Penicillin is assertive yet unbelievably balanced: smoky but not overwhelming, bright but not sour, spicy and slightly medicinal without being harsh.
For me, the ginger hit first, followed by the honey to mellow out the Scotch base. Then the smokier Scotch drifted in with those cozy campfire notes. My Penicillin tasted thoughtfully composed rather than merely shaken together. It was a perfect drink to savor on a dark, chilly evening.
It also strikes me as a super forgiving cocktail. If you're a spice lover, go ahead and use more ginger in the simple syrup (or muddle an extra slice or two of fresh ginger in your shaker). If you want more smoke, just use a bit less blended Scotch in the base and bump up the finishing float.
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Before you bust out the shaker, Ross has a few tried-and-true pointers to make sure your at-home Penicillin lives up to its iconic status. These details don’t just improve the drink; they elevate the whole experience.
"Fresh citrus is a must," Ross says. Bottled juice just doesn’t deliver the same brightness.
2. Supersize your ice
If you can, pour the finished cocktail over one large ice cube to keep the drink colder longer without watering it down.
A chilled glass keeps the drink crisp and earns instant presentation points. As Ross puts it, “Big ice and frozen glassware are two easy things that raise your wow factor tremendously.”
4. Prep ahead
Make the honey-ginger syrup in advance and juice your lemons before guests arrive so you can focus more on mingling.
In the end, it’s easy to see why the Penicillin has earned a devoted following. Comforting, complex and surprisingly low-effort, it manages to feel both party-ready and perfectly suited to a solo winter sip—proof that great cocktails, like great hosts, don’t have to try too hard.
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Source:
• Sam Ross, influential bartender and co-owner of Attaboy, a bar with locations in New York City and Nashville. Ross is also the inventor of the iconic Penicillin and Paper Plane cocktails.
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