Around the World in 60 Cocktails: Castaway

Think of Daniel Defoe’s classic novel Robinson Crusoe and you will be picturing an intrepid castaway, marooned on a paradisiacal island. That image might be ideal for movie lovers, but the actual inspiration for Robinson Crusoe was a salty Scottish seadog who went by the name of Alexander Selkirk.

The original castaway – long before Tom Hanks – Selkirk was marooned in Chile’s Juan Fernandez archipelago for four years and four months, rescued by a British private warship. An island in the archipelago bears the sailor’s name (there is another named Robinson Crusoe).

Despite Selkirk’s slightly checkered past, he was greeted as a celebrity upon his return to England. His adventures were then given a gloss and immortalized in the much loved 18th-century classic. In homage to Defoe’s literary masterpiece, we’ve created a twist on the modern classic, The Penicillin. With Mescal, Rhubarb liqueur and Naked Grouse whiskey, we think this spicy, acidic cocktail will definitely cast you away!