Zesty Irishman

Similar to the Whiskey Sour, the Zesty Irishman uses Irish Whiskey instead of Bourbon while also adding Drambuie, Triple Sec, and Ginger Ale. This adds an interesting twist on the typical sour make up.

You may be able to make this cocktail with a different kind of Whiskey than Irish Whiskey, but it really wouldn't be the same. Irish Whiskey has such unique characteristics it really makes things different! So don't change this up if you can help it.

Total Time 4

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

30 mL Irish Whiskey
20 mL Drambuie Liqueur
10 mL Triple Sec
20 mL Lemon Juice
Splash Ginger Ale

Instructions

Add the Whiskey, Drambuie, Triple Sec, and Lemon Juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake until very cold.
Strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice.
Add the Ginger Ale.
Garnish, serve, and enjoy.

Notes

The Zesty Irishman was created by Drambuie, presumably to encourage people to use more of their liqueur. And why not? Drambuie is a great liqueur! We're happy to find more reasons to enjoy it.

With that in mind, the Drambuie combines well with the orange notes of the Triple Sec and the sweetness works well with the Lemon Juice. And of course, being Whiskey based, the Drambuie also goes well with the Irish Whiskey, which is the main point of this cocktail!

We Have Even More to Say About the Zesty Irishman!

At first glance, it may look like there’s a lot going on with the ingredients here. It may look like there’s a few competing flavours here, but it’s actually not the case! It’s not surprise that the Irish Whiskey and the Drambuie work together. The Drambuie is Whiskey based, after all! Lemon isn’t terribly unusual with Whiskey either. You’ve seen it in the Whiskey Sour and countless of Whiskey cocktails; so no surprise there. The outlier feels like the Triple Sec, but remember there’s an Orange base there, and citrus is already working well through the Lemon Juice. Sure, the Ginger Ale feels like a bit of a strange turn, but Ginger Ale is pretty mild compared to Ginger Beer, plus it’s just a splash.

Looking at a list of ingredients is interesting, because sometimes they seem unrelated. But then you think about what you’ve seen and enjoyed elsewhere, and then you realise that a given recipe will really work!

Can I make a few Zesty Irishmen at once?

You can probably make a few of these cocktails at once, but just be aware of how much liquid is in your cocktail shaker. Basically, don’t add too much to your shaker otherwise you won’t actually get any shaking done. Make maximum two cocktails at once.

If I make a Zesty Irishman, can I keep it for later?

You probably can, but the Zesty Irishman is best made to order and served immediately, just because shaking a cocktail changes the consistency. Either way, wait until serving before adding the Ginger Ale.

When’s the best time for a Zesty Irishman?

Although it’s a bit zesty thanks to the splash of Ginger Ale, we think the Zesty Irishman fits well as an Autumn cocktail, not quite a Winter cocktail thanks to the orange elements of the Triple Sec, but this is a nice drink as things are starting to cool down. Whiskey is nice and warming, and Drambuie is actually very nice in the Winter. But everything combined is more Autumn than Winter!

The sour elements of this cocktail, combined with the sweeter elements found in the Drambuie and the Ginger Ale position it perfectly for after a big meal. It’s not quite a dessert, but still a good replacement for dessert. Or the dessert after dessert if you’re so inclined!

Is the Zesty Irishman a strong cocktail?

While it’s not a light weight cocktail by any means, we put the Zesty Irishman as average strength when it comes to cocktails because it has pretty much standard measurements of the alcoholic components in it. While it’s strong when compared to alcoholic beverages in general, it sits right in the middle when it comes to cocktails. And as an after dinner cocktail (in our opinion), that’s kind of a good thing. You don’t want to finish on something extremely strong as you’ve likely had a couple with dinner already.

What sort of music should I pair with the Zesty Irishman?

The ingredients in this recipe are actually fairly well spread geographically. Really the only Irish thing about this cocktail is the Irish Whiskey, and the name obviously. There are surely more Irish cocktails out there! Because of that we’re not going to suggest a type of Irish music here for you. There are cocktails that are more Irish that deserve that honour. So where can we concentrate to figure out a good type of music or song for this wonderful cocktail?

This may sound unusual, but we’re going to say that the song for this cocktail is November Rain by Guns n’ Roses. As mentioned, we feel this is an Autumn cocktail, perhaps a late Autumn cocktail. It’s slightly warm and cozy in nature, so sitting inside on a rainy day in November would not be unwelcome. Although there’s a sadness to the song, perhaps we can turn things around with this recipe.

Keep the cocktails flowing with some more recipes!

We have a lot of cocktail recipes on this site. If you feel like just browsing, go ahead. Otherwise we have some more directed browsing you can do as well:

All Irish Whiskey cocktail recipes: we’ll start with our Irish Whiskey Cocktail section. If you like Irish Whiskey, you’ll find something here.

All Whiskey cocktail recipes: we also have plenty of cocktails made with Whiskey in general. Check them out!

Top 10 Whiskey cocktail recipes: we’ve also narrowed things down to our favourite Whiskey cocktail recipes. See if you agree with us!