Dry Rob Roy

The Dry Rob Roy is a Scotch whisky cocktail made with Scotch (typically blended or single malt) and dry vermouth, stirred with ice and strained into a chilled cocktail glass with a lemon peel twist garnish. It is essentially a Scotch Martini, directly paralleling the gin Dry Martini in structure. The use of dry vermouth rather than sweet vermouth distinguishes it from the classic Rob Roy.

The Rob Roy was created in 1894 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, named after the Scottish folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor in honour of the Broadway premiere of the operetta Rob Roy. The original recipe uses sweet vermouth and Scotch with Angostura bitters, making it a Manhattan-style Scotch cocktail. The Dry Rob Roy drops the sweet vermouth in favour of dry vermouth for a more austere, drier character.

A blended Scotch such as Monkey Shoulder or Famous Grouse works well in a Dry Rob Roy, providing approachable malt character without overwhelming the vermouth. Lighter single malts like Glenlivet or Glenfiddich also work. Peated Islay malts like Laphroaig create a bold, smoky variation that divides opinion but suits fans of heavily peated Scotch. The spirit should be at least 40% ABV to hold up against the vermouth.