Rusty Nail

The Rusty Nail is a classic (and simple!) cocktail that everyone should know how to make!

I’ve partnered with Ball Park to talk about tasty snacks, delicious drinks and good times with friends at the curling club! #ToughAndTender

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The Rusty Nail is a classic (and simple!) cocktail that everyone should know how to make!Cancel that doctor’s appointment.  No need for a tetanus shot here.  This is one of those times (perhaps the only time?) when a Rusty Nail is a good thing!  This classic drink has appeared on all sorts of top cocktail lists, and it’s one of those drinks that everyone should know how to make.  Good news…it’s also incredibly easy, but more on that later!

Since this drink features two different iconic Scottish liquors, it’s only natural that we should also talk about an iconic Scottish sport.  Nope, not golf.  Curling.  Contrary to popular belief, curling indeed originated in Scotland and not Canada.  (Although in their defense, the Canadians pretty much own this sport on the international level.  I would know.  I actually watch curling on tv.)

The Rusty Nail is a classic (and simple!) cocktail that everyone should know how to make!You guys may remember that we joined our local curling club last winter.  We stopped by an open house one Saturday thinking it would be a fun story to tell our friends…but we got hooked.  My wife and I curled last season together, and now I’m off and running for another season.

I know you probably only think about curling every four years when the Winter Olympics roll around, but it’s one heck of an awesome sport.  I guess the easiest comparison might be darts…on ice.  The objective is to slide a 42-pound block of granite down a long sheet of ice and have it land as close to the button (i.e. bulls-eye) as possible.  Oh, and your opponents can use their stones to block yours or knock ’em clean out of the way.  So maybe it’s like chess and darts combined…on ice.

The Rusty Nail is a classic (and simple!) cocktail that everyone should know how to make!Sure, there are a bunch of other nuances to the game, but that’s the general gist.  (The Canadian government commissioned a huge study recently to analyze all sorts of aspects of the game.  No wonder the Canadian men’s and women’s teams both won the gold in 2014!)

CurlingAnd here’s the thing.  It might be cold on the ice when you first step out to play a game, but you get hot.  Sweeping that stone is hard work, and I’m usually ready for a shower afterwards!  But before hitting the locker rooms, you always sit down with your team and your opponents for a little social time.  4 people to a team, 2 teams = 8 people.  And the tables in the ‘warm room’ have 8 seats.  That’s no coincidence.  Curling is a social sport, and it’s customary to sit down and have a drink (and a snack!) after a game.

The Rusty Nail is a classic (and simple!) cocktail that everyone should know how to make!The Scots do it right when it comes to pomp and circumstance, too.  Before the final games of a tournament, it’s traditional (even in the Olympics) to have a bagpiper lead the players out onto the ice.  I made it to the finals in one tournament last season, and it’s an incredibly awesome experience!  Oh, and another tradition is for everyone to start that final game with a toast of Drambuie (at least at the club level).

Ok, enough curling talk now.  I’m sure I’ll talk about it more at some point soon just because I’m curling 3 nights a week this year…so I don’t have much time for anything else!  Let’s talk about this Rusty Nail.  This classic cocktail features just two ingredients, both of which happen to be Scottish.  A Rusty Nail is essentially 2 parts blended Scotch and 1 part Drambuie.  And the good thing is you can’t really screw this drink up!  If it’s too sweet, add a splash of Scotch.  Not sweet enough?  Yup, that’s right…more Drambuie.

The Rusty Nail is a classic (and simple!) cocktail that everyone should know how to make!When I come off the ice after a game, I’m usually starving.  Of course, our early games start just after 6pm, so I usually wait and eat dinner later.  But I can’t wait until 9 or 10 without a snack first.  And that’s where beef jerky comes in.  I’ve started keeping a bag of beef jerky in my car, and I nibble on a few pieces as I drive down to the curling club.

The Rusty Nail is a classic (and simple!) cocktail that everyone should know how to make!I recently discovered Ball Park Flame Grilled Jerky.  Woah!  Talk about one heck of a snack!  You probably know Ball Park as America’s favorite beef hot dog, but now they’ve jumped into the jerky world, too…with grilled jerky!  That’s right.  The jerky is dried for toughness, but then finished on the grill which creates both tenderness and chargrilled flavor.  Tough yet tender.  That’s how I like to roll.

Oh, this jerky is packed with flavor!  Ball Park’s new flame grilled jerky flavors include: Original Beef, Bourbon BBQ Beef (my favorite!), Peppered Beef, Barbecue Pork and Teriyaki Pork.

The Rusty Nail is a classic (and simple!) cocktail that everyone should know how to make!Earlier this week, I popped open a bag of Ball Park Peppered Beef jerky after my curling game.  We passed the bag around the table.  Tasty snacks, good drinks and hanging out with friends.  You can’t get much better than that!

The Rusty Nail is a classic (and simple!) cocktail that everyone should know how to make!

Rusty Nail

The Rusty Nail is a classic (and simple!) cocktail that everyone should know how to make!
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 3 minutes
Servings: 1 serving
Calories: 145kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 parts blended Scotch whiskey
  • 1 part Drambuie
  • Ice
  • {Optional garnish} Lemon twist

Instructions

  • Combine whiskey and Drambuie and serve over ice.
  • {Optional} Garnish with a lemon twist.

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16 Comments

    1. Haha…I totally remember broom hockey! It is indeed a bit different than curling, but equally as fun. Man, I wish I could find a broom hockey league now! 🙂

  1. Now that’s they way I like to start out my Monday or the work week – with a stiff drink! Now I’m ready to face everything coming my way. I love the curling info and that pic of the ice is cool! I bet it was an awesome experience being led out there with bagpipes! P.S. Kathy’s broom hockey comment is hilarious! 🙂

    1. I mean how can you go wrong there, Rachelle? Bagpipes, Scottish drinks and wearing slick shoes on a sheet of ice. Sounds like the perfect recipe for fun, right? 🙂

    1. Haha…I figured that name would catch some people off guard! I gotta tell you, though, Alice…this jerky + a Rusty Nail is one excellent combo! Drambuie has fallen out of popularity a bit…I guess it used to be more popular back in the 70’s. But it’s pretty darned tasty!

  2. Hi David! Jerky is one of the snacks I always take with me on road trips. I usually take and apple and candy too! Hey, I like a balanced diet! 🙂 Gary would love this drink but I’m not a Scotch drinker – I think I’d have a Bloody Mary with this jerky!

    1. I like your definition of a balanced diet, Dorothy! And I’m with ya…jerky makes one heck of a snack. I’ve never thought about it as road trip snacks, but I’ll need to remember that next time we hit the road. I seriously thought about doing some sort of Bloody Mary twist with the jerky, but in the end the Scottish roots with the Rusty Nail won out. 🙂

  3. Just yesterday Lil Shashi and I got into a discussion about why she should at least try beef jerky at least once while we were standing in the grocery store check out line – and then I see your post today! I’m not much of a drinker, but I’d gladly try Ball Park’s new flame grilled jerky as I haven’t tried them before.
    Nope I’ve never curled before – it sounds fascinating and such a social game!

    1. The flame grilled jerky is amazing, Shashi! You totally need to try it…and you need to make lil Shashi try it at least once! And since we’re in the mood to try new things, why don’t you guys just come on up and curl a game with me? 🙂

    1. I know! It’s not exactly the most appetizing of names, and I can’t seem to find any fun stories about how it got it’s name…but let’s just go with it. 🙂 Thanks, Manali!

    1. Hahaha…I agree, Dannii! What the heck is he doing posting about Rusty Nails? But it’s a classic cocktail. I think it’s fallen out of popularity in recent years, but it apparently used to be one of the most popular drinks back in the days of Humphrey Bogart and the Rat Pack. Let’s bring it back into style! 🙂

    1. Ball Park makes a delicious hot dog, but they’re just now breaking into the jerky world…and I’m glad they did because this jerky is awesome! And the Rusty Nail is a old timers drink, but I hear that it is gaining popularity again. It’s really tasty, and it makes you sound so fancy, too! (Way better than a green apple sprinkletini or something like that..haha!)

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