Name: Smoky Old Bastard
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Bourbon whiskey; 1 bag Cold Lapsang Souchong; 7.5 ml Maple syrup; 2 dash Boker's bitters

Smoky Old Bastard
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Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Bourbon whiskey
1 bag	Lapsang Souchong tea (cold)
¹⁄₄ oz	Maple syrup
2 dash	Boker's bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
STIR half the bourbon, tea bag and four ice cubes in glass for 60 seconds.
Remove tea bag, add maple syrup and bitters, and STIR some more.
Add more ice and the rest of the bourbon and STIR some more.
EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Review:

Lapsang souchong flavours and dry tannins are balanced by maple syrup and fortified with bourbon.

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History:

Created in 2011 by Craig Toone at Glovers Bar in Merseyside, England who says of his drink, "'Smoky' obviously refers to the distinctive tea flavour and the bastard refers to the bastardisation of the classic drink [Old Fashioned]."

More cocktails by Craig Toone

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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Mike Taylor

2nd November 2023 at 01:58

I’m confused by the recipe. It calls for a cold tea bag. Is it supposed to be a quantity of cold tea?

Simon Difford

2nd November 2023 at 07:46

As per method, this recipe calls for ingredients to be stirred with a tea bag. As you say, usually cocktails use a volume of tea so our database only has options for hot or cold Lapsang Souchong tea.

Moe Breadbaker

4th April 2022 at 08:02

A great drink in the same ballpark is the Dirty Old Bastard from Klaus St. Rainer of Die Goldene Bar in Munich.
5 cl Ardbeg Ten
1 cl Lapsang-Souchong-Syrup
a few dashes "Sexy Bitters" (Klaus St. Rainers own brand, but any aromatic bitters should work well)
a little (about 1 centimeter) Sriracha Chili Sauce
Stir well and serve on the rocks

chris wheeler

31st January 2022 at 11:32

Should this read: "STIR half of the bourbon" at the start? Later on it suggests adding the remaining bourbon but doesn't mention splitting it anywhere

Simon Difford

31st January 2022 at 12:13

Thanks for letting me know Chris. Now corrected.

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