How to make a peach and Scotch cocktail that’s as evocative as a Southern sunset and as fresh as Highland air, The Gilded Peach.
There are certain flavors that feel not just seasonal but spiritual—like they rise up out of the very bones of the earth to tell you: now is the time. And no fruit does that quite like the peach, which reaches its opulent, honeyed apex in the drowsy heat of July and August. The skins still a little dusty from the tree, the flesh radiating a kind of fragile perfection—bite too soon and it’s tart; too late and you’re left with jam. But in its moment, the peach is it. And The Gilded Peach cocktail is what you make when you want to bottle that moment.
This is not some saccharine peach-flavored sugar-bomb. This is an actual peach cocktail, made with real purée—peaches you slice and blend yourself, with the juice running down your fingers, maybe standing barefoot in the kitchen while cicadas drone in the background. It also happens to be spiked with one of the most approachable and delightfully complex whiskies of recent years: Compass Box Orchard House, a blended malt Scotch that leans into bright, fruity character without abandoning its malty depth. It’s whisky, yes, but whisky with nuance and grace—like a well-read dinner guest who also knows how to throw a spiral.
The Gilded Peach Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1⅓ oz Compass Box Orchard House
- ⅔ oz Ginger syrup
(either store-bought or made with equal parts fresh ginger juice and simple syrup) - ½ oz Lime juice
(fresh-squeezed, because of course it is) - ~⅞ oz Peach Truck Purée
(blend the flesh of 2 very ripe peaches with just a splash of water until smooth and pourable) - Soda water, to top
To Garnish:
- A sprig of fresh mint
- A peach slice, juicy and unapologetic
Directions:
In a lowball glass or large wine goblet, add the Compass Box Orchard House, ginger syrup, lime juice, and peach purée over plenty of ice. Stir gently to integrate. Top with soda water—not too aggressively, just enough to give it lift and sparkle. Finish with that mint sprig and a peach slice, preferably one that’s barely clinging to the edge of the glass like it’s thinking about falling in.
The result? It’s bright, yes—full of zing from the lime and ginger—but also round, velvety, and subtly layered thanks to the whisky. Orchard House brings in notes of green apple, pear skin, vanilla, and a whisper of spice—enough complexity to stand up to the peach, but not enough to drown it. It’s what a Scotch lover drinks when it’s too hot to drink Scotch, and what a peach lover drinks when they want to be taken seriously.
So make this now, while the peaches are still singing. By the time September comes, you’ll want a cocktail made of firewood and memory. But for now? You want the Gilded Peach.
Learn more about Compass Box Orchard House via the official website.
