Friday, September 15, 2017

Death Distilled and the Highland Bramble


Melinda Mullet joins us today from the wilds of Scotland where she's making Highland Brambles to match her new book, Death Distilled. Don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post. 

‘Death distilled to its finest essence.’  There was something about that phrase that spoke to me.  The dark soul of unnatural death is an overpowering passion, hatred or vengeance for wrongs of the past. An eternal pattern of action and reaction.   

As a world-class photojournalist Abi Logan is a gifted observer.  Able to discern patterns and intricate connections from a vast sea of information.  A shrewd judge of character, she’s capable of unwinding the delicate threads of action and reaction.  It makes her a natural amateur sleuth. 

We meet Abigail Logan in Single Malt Murder, the first installment in the Whisky Business mystery series.  Abi arrives in Scotland as the unwitting heir to a distillery whose knowledge of the whisky business would fit neatly in the bottom half of a shot glass.  But the murder of one of her employees and a series of personal threats put Abi on the defensive. She struggles at first to distill the truth from the lies and catch a killer, but in doing so earns the grudging respect of the local whisky fraternity.  

In Death Distilled Abi becomes involved with a reclusive local resident who turns out to be the aging lead singer of a once wildly successful rock band known as the Rebels.  The moody and sometimes volatile rocker enlists Abi’s help to find a killer who is stalking him and his former bandmates.   But whiskey swilling rock and rollers aren’t the only things on Abi’s plate.   She’s knee deep in sheep after saving the flock next door from a trip to the knackers, struggling to host a group of Japanese whiskey enthusiasts eager to tour her distillery, and the focus of local scrutiny once more after unearthing an unseemly bit of village history.

With all this on tap a girl could use a drink.  Naturally, I’d recommend an invigorating whisky cocktail.  Although many purists would shudder at the thought of adding anything to a good single malt whiskey I’m not one of them.  Even if you aren’t a whisky fan, the Highland Bramble is the perfect accompaniment to a wee adventure with Abi.  


As a bit of background, bramble is the Scottish word for blackberry.  Blackberries and raspberries grow in great profusion in Scotland and you’re welcome to eat them where you find them in the wild.  The Scot’s love of the bounty of nature is reflected in their passion for whisky.  Distilled from the grain of the land and the cold clear water of the hills, whisky is a pure taste of tradition, history and the art of the distiller.  

Highland Bramble

1.5 oz Scotch whisky (blended or a single malt)
1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp of honey
0.5 oz of Crème de Mure

Shake the first three ingredients with ice.  Strain into an ice filled, old-fashioned glass and drizzle the Crème de Mure over the top.  Garnish with blackberries.

If you’re not one for strong drinks, blend 2 oz of whisky with 1 tsp of honey and marinate your fresh blackberries in the fridge for an hour.  With or without whipped cream on top it makes a fabulous dessert.

Sláinte!


Melinda appeared today courtesy of Great Escapes Virtual Tours
a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for hosting us Mystery Playground! It was great fun.

    And to all my whisky lovers -- auto-correct strikes again ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The drink and the book sound great!

    ReplyDelete