Happy World Whisky Day!
If you’re wondering, ‘What is World Whisky Day?’, it’s a day dedicated to celebrating all things whisky - something we’ll never say no to. This year we’re celebrating with our Chivas brand ambassadors around the world, seeing their favourite ways to drink our blends.
While Chivas is a Scotch whisky, there are definitely more ways to drink it than the traditional Scottish way. From simple highballs to complex cocktails, read on to see a world of ways to enjoy Chivas!
Paras Sehmar – Cyprus
My favourite local drink is the Cypriot Brandy Sour, which is a traditional drink that you can enjoy across Cyprus. It’s most commonly served in tavernas as a refreshing long drink to keep you on your feet after a night of dancing! It’s made with brandy, lemon cordial, bitters, sugar syrup and soda.
My Chivas twist on this drink uses the same foundations, but I replace the brandy with Chivas XV as it brings a unique complexity to the cocktail – it’s perfect for a night of luxurious celebration! In place of standard simple syrup, I use mastiha (a local liqueur) as the key sweetener, which brings a balanced sweetness and lovely aromatic floral notes. Taking inspiration from a classic Whisky Sour, this cocktail is enjoyed in a nice chilled rocks glass with an egg white (or aquafaba for vegans) foamed top.
Tomos Brooks – Japan
Tokyo has one of the most well-renowned bartending cultures in the world, and there are many local creations I have come to love over the years! However, the best things are the classics. My favourite local drink is a Chivas Mizunara Boulevardier – equal parts Chivas, sweet vermouth and Campari.
Obviously I have a deep love of Scotch whisky, but one of my other passions is local Japanese sake. In Japan, we are incredibly lucky to have a special product called Link 8888. Link is a sake, produced by a famous local producer called Masuizumi, that has been finished in Chivas casks. Different whisky casks that make up the blend are filled with sake here to give it a delicious and unique flavour. My spin on the Boulevardier substitutes sweet vermouth with sake. Named the Sake-Vardier, it’s a wonderful link between Scotland and Japan, with Scotch that has been aged in Japanese barrels and sake that has been in Scotch casks. It’s also absolutely delicious with its rich, sweet and indulgent notes followed with a hint of the bitter flavour to finish it off!
Farah Jafferji – Italy
My favourite Italian drink is a deliciously refreshing Basil Smash – it’s the perfect cocktail for the hot weather over here. During the summer months fragrant basil grows all over the country and beautiful zesty lemons can be found all along the Amalfi coast. This cocktail is usually made with gin but the citrus notes pair perfectly with Chivas whisky too!
Basil Smash Recipe
60ml Chivas 12
25ml lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
Handful of basil
Ice
Dry shake all ingredients, shake again with ice, then strain into a tall glass and garnish with a sprig of basil.
María Soledad Nuñez – Chile
Here in Chile there isn’t necessarily a stereotypical local drink besides Pisco or wine, but we love sweet flavours like the local maracuya fruit! The Chivas Royal is tailored for our preferences and is made with palm honey, as it has a more intensely sweet flavour.
The Chivas Royal recipe
60ml Chivas
30ml lemon juice
30ml palm Honey
Top with soda
Add all ingredients except soda to a glass with ice and stir, before topping with soda water. Finish by garnishing with apple and orange slices.
Michael Knowles – The Netherlands
Amsterdam has always been a city of beer. However, people are now really starting to branch out and explore other refreshing options to drink with their friends, whether in the park or on the terraces of their favourite bars! Beer and whisky share their base ingredient, so it’s easy to offer a simple trade up for this city in the form of a Chivas Highball with IPA syrup.
Highball Recipe with IPA Syrup
45ml Chivas 12
15ml IPA syrup
120ml soda water
Garnish with orange zest
Sonia Garbowska – Poland
In Warsaw, there’s a speakeasy bar called El Koktel which is beloved by the community. There, they have a cocktail called Enter The Void and it’s an absolute hit! Made up of Chivas XV, green tea and ginger, this drink owes its colour to milk clarification made from sweet pandan leaf, green cardamom and citrus. I must admit that I haven't drunk anything so delicious for a long time!
Enter The Void cocktail recipe
700g Chivas XV
650g fresh milk
600g ginger tea
600g lemon/lime shrub
James Williams – Caribbean
My favourite local way to drink whisky is with coconut water, and we often enjoy it when on the beach here in the Caribbean. A great way to introduce this flavour is to add some coconut water to a classic Mizunara highball. It’s an incredibly refreshing drink and has the power to make you feel like you’re on a sunny beach – even when you’re not!
Agustín Giuliani – Argentina
Argentina is very well known for its great wines and for drinking a lot of vermouth or bitter drinks, which were passed down to us through our parents and grandparents. One of the most consumed aperitif drinks is vermouth and soda.
My Chivas twist is to use this as a base and add both Chivas Extra 13 and fernet. Fernet is one of the most widely consumed drinks here, usually mixed with cola. This recipe is almost like a Highball version of a Rob Roy!
Cocktail recipe
45ml Chivas Extra 13
30ml sweet vermouth
5ml fernet
Top with soda
1 grapefruit wedge, to garnish
Whether you’re planning on trying one of these drinks at home or prefer your own way to drink Chivas, we hope you enjoy our blends this World Whisky Day.
Interested in seeing more ways to drink whisky? Take a look at our whisky cocktail recipes now.
