This smokey blackberry whisky sour recipe has a prep ahead rosemary syrup

Name: This smokey blackberry whisky sour recipe has a prep ahead rosemary syrup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 200 g granulated sugar; 9 rosemary sprigs; 12 blackberries; 80 mL peated whisky; 40 mL lemon juice; 20 mL crème de cassis; 1 medium egg white

Get your spook on with this intensely smokey cocktail.

By Nadine BrownPublished: 30 October 2026

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two pink cocktails with rosemary garnish on a tray near a lit candle and shaker.

Peated whisky adds an even deeper smokey flavour to this delicious Halloween-esque cocktail.

Plus 1-4 hours infusing.

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Yields:

Prep Time:

10 mins

Cook Time:

5 mins

Total Time:

15 mins

Ingredients

200 g granulated sugar
9 rosemary sprigs
12 blackberries
80 ml peated whisky
40 ml lemon juice
20 ml crème de cassis
1 medium egg white

Directions

1. Step 1Chill 2 coupe glasses. For the syrup, combine the sugar with 200ml water in a small saucepan. Heat gently for 3-4min, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a gentle boil, then turn off the heat.
2. Step 2Rub 8 of the rosemary sprigs in your hands to bruise them, then add to the syrup. Cover and leave to infuse for at least 1hr, ideally 3-4. Strain out the herbs and reserve the syrup.
3. Step 3To make the cocktail, muddle the blackberries with 40ml of the syrup in a cocktail shaker, releasing the berry juices.
4. Step 4Add the whisky, lemon juice, crème de cassis and the egg white. Shake vigorously for 15sec, add a handful of ice cubes then shake for another 15secs, until the cocktail shaker feels very cold. Double-strain the cocktail through a fine-mesh sieve into the chilled glasses.
5. Step 5Using a kitchen torch, briefly burn the remaining sprig of rosemary and let it cool before using to garnish.

GH TIP: This will make more syrup than you need but you can keep it in airtight container in the fridge for another batch of cocktails.

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Nadine Brown

Kitchen Editor

Nadine is the Kitchen Editor, creating delicious, exciting recipes for GH. Her background is eclectic – time spent as a teen mag website editor interviewing the likes of Lady Gaga before becoming a standby contestant for GBBO - and it shows in her style cooking. Full of flavour, interesting stories and fun!

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