Mary Queen of Scots

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (45 ratings)

Photographed in an UB 1910 Old Fashioned 10.5oz

Ingredients:
1 13 oz Blended Scotch whisky
23 oz Green Chartreuse (or alternative herbal liqueur)
23 oz Honey herbal liqueur (e.g. Drambuie)
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into ice-filled glass.
  5. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 9/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 4/10

Review:

Slightly sweet herbal influenced riff on the Rusty Nail.

View readers' comments

AKA: Le Rusty Nail

History:

Adapted from a shaken and straight-up cocktail served in a sugar-rimmed glass with a cherry discovered in 2006 on Kyle Branch's Cocktail Hotel blog.

Mary Stuart, Mary Queen of Scots, was born 8th December 1542 at Linlithgow Place in West Lothian. On February 8th 1587, she was executed in the Great Hall of Fotheringhay.

Nutrition:

One serving of Mary Queen of Scots contains 222 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 2 standard drinks
  • 34.45% alc./vol. (34.45° proof)
  • 27.6 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Peter McCarthy’s Avatar Peter McCarthy
4th May at 06:46
While it's been a bit since I've had this one, based on my notes, I wanna say the Carthusian Nail has a better ratio of the same ingredients.
Peter McCarthy’s Avatar Peter McCarthy
28th February at 18:42
Fairly sweet, but there's a nice bitterness from the Chartreuse to help balance it on the back-end. Interesting, complex flavor.
Jeffrey Moore’s Avatar Jeffrey Moore
6th September 2024 at 17:28
I had to up the whisky to a full 2 oz to counter the sweet & stand up to the GC.
Jay Gates’ Avatar Jay Gates
17th July 2022 at 01:50
Really nice variation on the Rusty Nail; the Chartreuse brings both an herbal quality and a bite that cuts through some of the sweetness--and it is very sweet. I modified the measurements in line with my preferences for a 4:1 ratio in a Rusty Nail: 2 blended scotch (I used Monkey Shoulder), 1/2 Drambuie, 2 bar spoons Chartreuse. Serving on the rocks is a must.
Ramon Simpson’s Avatar Ramon Simpson
26th June 2022 at 22:39
Awsome.. This has a really direct old-fashion (bourbon) vibe to it on the pallet for me, I'm sure you can sub-in an orange twist if no lemons around.
Andy Parnell-Hopkinson’s Avatar Andy Parnell-Hopkinson
1st April 2022 at 21:48
Good, but very sweet, IMHO.
Yorey C’s Avatar Yorey C
29th July 2024 at 04:49
yeah drambuie stuff is usually pretty cloying
Efrasiyab Efrasiyab’s Avatar Efrasiyab Efrasiyab
23rd December 2021 at 21:48
Le Rusty Nail
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
24th December 2021 at 10:05
Love it. I've added "Le Rusty Nail" as an AKA above.
Avatar

Anonymous

12th August 2021 at 09:59
Great cock, sweet taste with an almost honey nutty finish balanced with the scotch. Would recommend
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
26th March 2021 at 00:30
Great. While there is some sweetness to the drink it is offset by the herbal and Scotch tones.