Food - Drink
What Makes A Rob Roy Cocktail Different From A Manhattan
By MICHELLE WELSCH
Scottish Robin Hood-style vigilante Robert MacGregor (AKA Rob Roy) likely never dreamed that he would inspire a mixed drink that bears his name. The Rob Roy cocktail, made of vermouth, scotch whiskey, and bitters garnished with a cherry, sounds a lot like a Manhattan, but a few subtle differences result in quite different drinks.
It's rumored that the Rob Roy has origins in a New Jersey bar, where a customer ordered a Manhattan, traditionally made with rye whiskey. However, the customer was a scotch salesman who was prohibited from drinking anything besides his company's whiskey; the bartender simply replaced the rye with the scotch, and a new drink was born.
Using scotch instead of rye or bourbon results in a much smokier drink, making the Rob Roy a sort of Manhattan for scotch lovers. As mentioned before, the Rob Roy only requires stirring vermouth, scotch, and bitters together, but swap rye in for the scotch and replace the cherry garnish with an olive, and you have a Manhattan.