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Cocktail History
The Saigon Lady is a modern cocktail that was created by Lucinda Sterling at Middle Branch in New York City, New York. Inspired by the spicy and exotic taste of Saigon Cinnamon, the recipe is built using the sour template and blends a split base of brandy and Scotch whisky with homemade grenadine, citrus, and frothy egg white to recreate the spice’s flavor profile.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Scotch: This is a type of whiskey made in Scotland with malt or grain, spices, alcohol, and water. We used The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch Whisky because its smoky and sweet flavor works well in cocktails. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Escape Mocktails Green Label Single Malt Whiskey Non-Alcoholic Alternative in place of the whisky.
Cognac: This is a type of brandy made in Cognac, France with distilled white wine. We used Courvoisier VSOP Cognac because it has a rich mouthfeel and a delightful brandy spice with notes of peach, almond, and cinnamon. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Escape Mocktails Non-Alcoholic Cognac Alternative in place of the brandy.
Grenadine: This is a sweetener made with pomegranate juice and white sugar. We made ours at home using Alex’s stovetop 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.
Ground Cinnamon: This is a spice. We used Simply Organic Ground Cinnamon.
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.
Tasting Notes
The Saigon Lady features spicy cinnamon aromas and has a mostly sweet taste that combines the oaky flavors of the spirits with sweet pomegranate and light citrus, washed down with a slight bitterness and Scotch aftertaste.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: Our opinions were a bit split on this one, with Kendall enjoying its sweetness and pomegranate flavor much more than Alex did. She also thought it to be a good gateway to enjoying Scotch’s flavors; Alex, on the other hand, preferred the Saigon Lady with a split of cinnamon syrup and grenadine because it gave the drink the extra spice bump he was looking for.
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.
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.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐
“Generally I liked this drink, but I wouldn’t say I loved it. We used our homemade grenadine instead of the bottled cherry red stuff, and it definitely helped its case, but I still felt that the cocktail was too sweet for my palate with so much grenadine. I also couldn’t really pick apart the Scotch and brandy in it. That being said, the recipe does call for a lightly peated Scotch, which the bottle we had on hand was not. While I’m sure this would be just as tasty with all Scotch, all brandy, or even bourbon or rye, it was a pretty middling cocktail overall to me. If I were to make it again, I think I would split the amount of grenadine with cinnamon syrup to give it that extra spiciness it seems to want to deliver.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“This is one of the most interesting recipes I’ve tasted so far. The cinnamon on top gives it a dessert aroma, while the pomegranate becomes the main flavor with Scotch coming through at the end. It’s definitely a sweeter drink, so those with more discerning palates like Alex’s probably wouldn’t like it as much. But for someone like me, this is a great pick if you want to get used to Scotch’s smoky flavor.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Winter Drinks: 70 Essential Cold-Weather Cocktails by the editors of PUNCH.
Add whisky, brandy, grenadine, lemon juice, egg white, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Remove ice from shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with ground cinnamon.
Ingredients
Directions
Add whisky, brandy, grenadine, lemon juice, egg white, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Remove ice from shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with ground cinnamon.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Escape Mocktails Green Label Single Malt Whiskey Non-Alcoholic Alternative in place of the whisky and Escape Mocktails Non-Alcoholic Cognac Alternative in place of the brandy to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Scotch Cocktails
If you like this Scotch-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Flannel Shirt: A Scotch cocktail made with apple cider, Amaro Averna, lemon juice, simple syrup, allspice dram, Angostura aromatic bitters, and an orange peel
Smoky Martini: A gin cocktail made with dry vermouth, Scotch, amaretto, and a lemon peel
Seelbach: A bourbon cocktail made with triple sec, Angostura aromatic bitters, Peychaud’s Creole bitters, dry sparkling wine, and an orange twist
Blood & Sand: A Scotch cocktail made with cherry liqueur, sweet vermouth, orange juice, and a cherry
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