The Rye Scout swaps the Talent Scout's bourbon for a 100-proof rye. The drink turns drier, spicier, and less sweet — pulling the Talent Scout back toward the austere Old Fashioned it riffs on.
The Talent Scout, with its sweet tooth corrected.
Rye Against Bourbon
The Talent Scout is, at heart, an Old Fashioned with orange curaçao standing in for plain sugar. Built on bourbon it is rounded and sweet; built on a bonded, 100-proof rye it is dry and peppery — the curaçao's sweetness now a counterweight rather than an echo.
Toward the Old Fashioned
Rye was the original whiskey of the pre-Prohibition Old Fashioned, and the Rye Scout leans into that history. It is the most classic-leaning member of the Talent Scout family — a drink for anyone who finds the bourbon version a touch too easy.
Bonded, for Backbone
A bottled-in-bond or otherwise 100-proof rye is the call. The extra proof gives the drink structure and lets the rye spice carry over the curaçao — a soft, low-proof whiskey would simply be swallowed by the orange.
The Talent Scout Family
A 1951 Old Fashioned riff — bourbon, orange curaçao, and Angostura over a large cube.
- 2 1/4 ozBourbon
- 1/2 ozOrange curaçao
- 2 dashesAngostura bitters
Reposado tequila with pear liqueur — a bright, orchard-fresh riff on the template.
- 2 1/4 ozReposado tequila
- 1/2 ozPear liqueur
- 2 dashesAngostura bitters
Chocolate-and-cinnamon mole bitters for the Angostura — nudged toward dessert.
- 2 1/4 ozBonded bourbon
- 1/2 ozOrange curaçao
- 2 dashesMole bitters
French brandy for the bourbon — given the curaçao, almost the canonical version.
- 2 1/4 ozVSOP Cognac
- 1/2 ozOrange curaçao
- 2 dashesAngostura bitters