Being someone born on the more historic side of the Atlantic where the landscape is littered with castles and ancient monuments, my twist on the Old Fashioned takes its inspirations from across Europe.

Of course, we’ll start with a base of Whisky but with a vowel notably absent. I’ve chosen a Scotch from a brewery and distillery known better (at least for now) for its gin, the Eden Mill distillery in St Andrews. Art of the Blend Batch 4, which uses ex-port European oak casks to age this punchy 51% ABV whisky.

It has notes of cherry bakewell, Victoria sponge and red berries on the nose, which I’m complementing with a caramel syrup for our sweetness. Not too much, as ODK syrups (made in Italy for our third European touch) carries a huge amount of flavour in small volumes. Just about a half ounce will be plenty.

For bitters, I used Hotel Chocolat’s Cocoa bitters to add a hint of chocolate without overpowering. This also reflects the Bournville dark chocolate garnish, as the Cadbury factory is just around the corner from my home and my wife’s mother actually works in their production facility.

So there we have it - a very European Old Fashioned, and how apt that we post it on the very day that the UK was supposed to leave the EU!

Recipe:

• 2oz (60ml) Eden Mill Art of the Blend Batch 4 Scotch Whisky
• ½oz (15ml) ODK Caramel Syrup
• 3 Dashes Hotel Chocolat Cocoa Bitters
• Bournville dark chocolate garnish