Pot of Gold

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Cocktail History

The Pot of Gold is a St. Patrick’s Day cocktail that was first published by Liquor.com. The recipe is a play on the Whiskey Sour template that is similar to the Penicillin in flavor profile. What sets it apart, however, is its inclusion of Irish whiskey and egg white that is shaken with honey and ginger syrup, lemon, and Islay Scotch, served up, and topped with gold flakes as a nod to the treasure found at the end of a rainbow in Irish tales.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Irish Whiskey: This is a type of whiskey made in Ireland made with unmalted or malted barley, cereal grains, spices, and water. We used Bushmills Original Irish Whiskey because it has a rich, warming taste. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Spiritless Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Whiskey in place of the Irish whiskey.

Honey Syrup: This is a sweetener made with honey and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s simple recipe.

Ginger Syrup: This is a sweetener made with ginger, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Egg White: This is the clear liquid in an egg. We used fresh egg whites because they add a rich, silky smooth texture.

Islay Scotch: This is a type of of Scotch whisky made in southern Scotland with with spices, alcohol, water, and malt or grain that has been dried with peat fires. We used Ardbeg 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky because it has a strong peaty flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Escape Mocktails Green Label Single Malt Whiskey Non-Alcoholic Alternative in place of the whisky.

Gold Flakes: This is gold that has been hammered into small, thin sheets.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Tweezers: This is used to place the garnish on the drink. We used one from the Stainless Steel Food Tweezers Set.

Tasting Notes

The Pot of Gold features aromas of strong, smoky Scotch, has a sweet taste comprised of honey and spiced ginger with sour lemon for balance, and finishes with malted whiskey for some backbone in the aftertaste.

Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: Apart from the gold flakes, which we ultimately felt we could do without, we both had pretty different experiences with this drink! Alex enjoyed it for what it was but felt that the Irish whiskey made it a bit too smooth for his preference, while Kendall loved it much more than the original Penicillin for the exact same reason.

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Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.

Take Our Quiz →

Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“Being one of the Penicillin‘s biggest unofficial fans, I expected to absolutely love this one, and while it was great, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The combination of Islay Scotch, shaken into the drink rather than rinsed or sprayed on top, and Irish whiskey versus a slightly more aggressive blended Scotch made a cocktail that was, quite frankly, much easier to drink than its counterpart. For the uninitiated palate, that makes for an even better cocktail, but for somebody like me who enjoys those challenging flavors, it makes it come up a bit short. Overall, the drink is wonderful, but I did not prefer it to the gold standard.”

Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“If you want to enjoy a Penicillin but your palate hasn’t developed enough to handle the prominent Scotch flavor yet, this variation made with similar ingredients is your answer. I absolutely loved this cocktail; it’s bright and has a delicious ginger spice that’s rounded out with whiskey notes. That said, I can’t imagine this one being made in an actual bar with the edible gold garnish unless they have connections to the underground gold trade that we don’t. It was fun but expensive and a bit of a bother to arrange on top of the foam. It would be just as tasty without it.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from Liquor.com, an online beverage publication.

AuthorLiquor.com

Yields1 ServingPrep Time5 mins

Ingredients
 1 ¾ oz Irish Whiskey
 ¾ oz Homemade Honey Ginger Syrup
 ¾ oz Lemon Juice
 ½ oz Egg White
 ¼ oz Islay Scotch
 Edible Gold Flakes

Method
1

Add Irish whiskey, ginger honey syrup, lemon juice, egg white, Scotch, and cubed ice to a shaker.

2

Shake for 10-20 seconds.

3

Remove ice from shaker.

4

Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.

5

Strain into cocktail glass.

6

Garnish with edible gold flakes.

Ingredients

Ingredients
 1 ¾ oz Irish Whiskey
 ¾ oz Homemade Honey Ginger Syrup
 ¾ oz Lemon Juice
 ½ oz Egg White
 ¼ oz Islay Scotch
 Edible Gold Flakes

Directions

Method
1

Add Irish whiskey, ginger honey syrup, lemon juice, egg white, Scotch, and cubed ice to a shaker.

2

Shake for 10-20 seconds.

3

Remove ice from shaker.

4

Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.

5

Strain into cocktail glass.

6

Garnish with edible gold flakes.

Pot of Gold

Make It a Mocktail: Use Spiritless Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Whiskey in place of the Irish whiskey and Escape Mocktails Green Label Single Malt Whiskey Non-Alcoholic Alternative in place of the Scotch whisky to try a booze-free version of this drink.

Shop Glassware & Tools

Find collections of cocktail glassware and bartending tools we recommend for your home bar in our Amazon shop.

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More Whiskey Cocktails

If you like this whiskey-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:

Drunken Leprechaun Cocktail Recipe

Drunken Leprechaun: A whiskey cocktail made with orange juice, blue curaçao, Green Chartreuse, an orange wedge, and a cherry

Falling Leaves Cocktail Recipe

Falling Leaves: A rye cocktail made with Amaro Montenegro, toasted fig syrup, chocolate bitters, and an orange slice

Mountain Man Cocktail Recipe

Mountain Man: A bourbon cocktail made with lemon juice, peach liqueur, ginger syrup, maple syrup, and candied ginger

Boo Radley Cocktail Recipe

Boo Radley: A bourbon cocktail made with Cynar, cherry liqueur, a lemon peel, and an orange peel

This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2024-03-28.

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