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Why Naked & Cocktails are the Perfect Pair

Batman & Robin, Holmes & Watson, Thelma & Louise, Fish & Chips. The list of famous duos goes on and on, and a new one has now emerged: Naked & Cocktails.

Like every great partnership, they just work perfectly together. But why? Why is Naked a favourite with bartenders across the globe? What makes this blended malt scotch whisky so different from the rest? And why does it consistently pick up awards?

Well don’t you worry, our Master Blender is about to reveal all. We sat down with Diane Stuart to discuss blended malts, whisky cocktails and all things Naked.

Diane Stuart the Master Blender of Naked looks at camera with several bottles of Naked sitting in front of her

So Diane, what’s so special about Naked? 

“What makes Naked special is our first-fill ‘Naked’ sherry casks. We take our blend and extra-mature it in these casks for six months – the perfect amount of time to get the delivery of flavour we’re looking for.

The casks themselves are a combination of American Oak and European Oak. The American Oak casks give us more of those sweet vanilla and fruity flavours, while the European casks give us richer, spicy notes. 

This process requires a lot more operational effort, but the end result is something a bit special.”

A bartender stirs a Naked Whisky Cocktail which sits beside a bottle of Naked Whisky

So Naked works so well in cocktails because of the process?

“Yes. That lovely, rounded flavour we talked about really does make Naked the perfect blended malt for cocktails

When you think about something like a bourbon, it has a very dominant flavour that’s quite difficult to mix and hit the right balance. With Naked, the extra mile we go to helps create a rounded flavour that’s perfect for mixing. That could be with your more citrusy flavours in something like an Orange Sour, but it works equally as well in something like a Naked Rob Roy (Naked, vermouth and bitters). 

You can take it in all sorts of different directions, and it appeals to all sorts of different palates. You can use it to make pretty much any whisky cocktail you want.”  

You’ve talked a lot about flavour, why don’t Naked go big on tasting notes? 

“We don’t want to tell people how to drink their whisky. We think it should be accessible to everyone and we don’t want to bamboozle people by using technical terms, or make anyone feel like they’re doing it wrong.

Flavour, especially in whisky, is such a complicated thing. There’s so much variation. Some people love a really hot spicy curry, others are happy with a korma. It’s exactly the same with whisky.  

So while we work hard to create amazing flavour with Naked, we’d rather people found out for themselves and made their own mind up.”

A tall glass of a yellow Naked Whisky Cocktail sits on a bar in front of a bottle of Naked Whisky

Well you heard her, it’s time for you to discover why Naked and cocktails go together like, well, Naked and cocktails. 

Check out our range of delicious Naked Sour recipes and share your creations with us on Instagram by using #NakedSour

Or why not get creative at home and come up with your own Naked cocktail recipe? Not only will it taste great, but now you know all the reasons why.

Naked News

April 27, 2021