Naughty Charles

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (85 ratings)
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    Naughty Charles

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Naughty Charles image

Serve in a Nick & Nora glass

Ingredients:
1 1⁄2 oz Blended Scotch whisky
1⁄3 oz Heering Cherry Liqueur
1⁄3 oz White crème de cacao liqueur
1⁄2 oz Strucchi Dry Vermouth
2 dash Orange Bitters by Angostura
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Nick & Nora glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
  3. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. EXPRESS a lemon zest over each cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 5/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

I first tried this cocktail whilst judging the Heering Classics Challenge 2018 Final and while I loved the flavours it struck me that it was just a smidgen on the sweet side. So, back at my own bar, I experimented with reducing the sweet components. The conclusion, Liam (the drink's creator) nailed it the first time and the proportions he used are the best to make the five ingredients shine. It's not sweet, but it wavers on the sweet side of balanced, so I'd recommend enjoying after a meal.

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History:

Created 2018 by Liam Doherty-Penzer at Whirly Bird, Sydney, Australia, this cocktail earned him a place in the London final of the Heering Classics Competition. (Liam used J. Walker Black Label for his Scotch and Noilly Prat for his dry vermouth.)

Nutrition:

One serving of Naughty Charles contains 181 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 25.17% alc./vol. (25.17° proof)
  • 20.3 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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Jeffrey Moore’s Avatar Jeffrey Moore
5th May at 21:03
Lovely sipper. I upped the Scotch to 1 3/4 oz. I like the Noilly Prat in this as well. I think Dolin would get lost.
You taste everything, every flavor in this, and it has good balance. It is a silky, easy drinking cocktail. Dangerously so!🍸
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Ruth Harvey’s Avatar Ruth Harvey
17th November 2024 at 10:02
Another reminder how much I love cocktails with Heering Cherry Liquor! I was surprised that you could taste the crème de cacao...but it really was discernable amongst the other strong flavours.
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John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
17th October 2024 at 12:47
Lashed out and used balvenie. Very nice indeed. I can set Simon’s issue re balance. I’d be tempted to play a little as well.
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John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
17th October 2024 at 13:07
Second variation with monkey shoulder also excellent. Was slightly more generous with the bitters - bitter truth - and worked well.
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Leslie’s Avatar Leslie
21st October 2023 at 21:16
Nothing in my mind or experience suggests lemon as a garnish so I bounced that and replaced with maraschinos and then added a couple dashes of chocolate bitters - quite changed it and I quite loved it as a result!
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Cameron Carter’s Avatar Cameron Carter
7th July 2023 at 01:43
Wow. A tasty digestif with outstanding depth.
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Jeremy Harrold’s Avatar Jeremy Harrold
25th June 2023 at 08:00
A tasty drink.
1
reply
Herbert Brant’s Avatar Herbert Brant
23rd December 2022 at 18:53
Lovely. The hint of cocoa and hint of bitter orange is brilliant. The balance between sweet and bitter suits my taste perfectly.
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jason keane’s Avatar jason keane
1st March 2022 at 05:43
Not bad. I may Experiment with cherry bitters and chocolate bitters- although I admit the orange note was good.
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Adrian Rammelt’s Avatar Adrian Rammelt
16th February 2022 at 21:14
Absolute cracker. Thank you. Out of circumstance I had to use a dark Creme de Cacao (Bols) and a Glenrothes 11 yr old whisky. It still retained a pleasant sweetness but you're right a great balanced cocktail. In house we're calling it a 'Naughty Camilla' but that sounds just wrong. Cheers!
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John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
17th July 2021 at 02:59
Very nice. I am not a fan of the smokey whisky, but did use Johnny Walker Black. Not too smokey. There is a hint of smokey bacon to the drink. Great for after dinner.
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