8 Bourbon Based Cocktail Recipes
Are you a lover of bourbon? Looking for some ways to get creative with your next bourbon drink? Look no further - inspiration included!
Aloha!
I’m Ashley, a bartender of many years and proud owner of The Bar Coco, a mobile bar experience for special events on Oahu. Part of my services as a mobile bar is helping couples to create special cocktail menus for their event based on their unique tastes.
A brief background on our star of the show: Bourbon
Bourbon is a type of whiskey (or whisky if you are looking at a bottle from Scotland, Canada, or Japan). Whiskey is made from fermented grains and different grains and production methods result in different whiskeys and tastes. Whiskey can be anywhere from sweet to spicy to smokey or smooth.
Bourbon is an American whiskey that has some specific requirements:
At least 51% corn mash;
Aged in new charred white oak barrels;
Produced in the USA.
Let’s get started with our 8 bourbon-based cocktail recipes…
1. Old Fashioned
You can’t have a bourbon cocktail list without the most iconic bourbon cocktail. The recipe is simple: spirit, sugar, bitters, and water (which happens to also be the technical definition of a cocktail). Some recipes call for muddled orange and cherries, which is most likely to have been born during the Prohibition to mask the poor quality of available spirit at the time.
Ingredients:
2 oz Bourbon
0.5 oz 1:1 simple syrup
3 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters
Method:
Add all ingredients to a glass, add ice and stir for 30-45 seconds.
Garnish with an orange peel and brandied cherry.
Riff: Omit the simple syrup and serve your old fashioned with a rock candy swizzle stick for a fun signature cocktail.
2. Man o’ War
A delicious variation of the classic manhattan.
Ingredients:
2 oz Bourbon
1 oz Orange curaçao
0.5 oz Sweet Vermouth
0.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Method:
Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice, shake and strain.
Garnish with a lemon peel and brandied cherry.
3. Berry Truth
A refreshing berry-bourbon mule, perfect for…well…any day.
Ingredients:
2 oz Bourbon
3 dashes Cranberry bitters
0.5 oz Lemon Juice
3 Blackberries
5 Blueberries
4 oz Ginger beer
Method:
Add berries to a shaker and muddle.
Add bitters, juice, bourbon, and ice, shake.
Pour into glass and finish with ginger beer.
4. Mint Julep
The official drink of the Kentucky Derby.
Ingredients:
2 oz Bourbon
0.5 oz 1:1 Simple Syrup
8(ish) Mint leaves
Method:
Add mint and simple syrup into a glass & muddle.
Add bourbon and fill the glass with crushed ice.
Stir until the glass becomes frosty on the outside.
Pack with more crushed ice.
Garnish with mint sprig & aromatic bitters if you have it.
5. Whiskey Smash
Another classic, refreshing whiskey cocktail. This will even please the people who don’t know they like whiskey yet!
Ingredients:
2 oz Bourbon
3 Lemon wedges
0.75 oz 1:1 Simple syrup
3 Mint leaves (spearmint if you can)
Method:
Heavily the lemon wedges in a shaker.
Add the remaining ingredients with ice & shake.
Double strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass.
Garnish with a mint sprig.
6. Bourbon Stone Sour
Bourbon and peaches just sound like they belong together…right?
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Bourbon
1 oz Peach liqueur
0.75 oz Orange juice
0.5 oz 1:1 Simple syrup
0.75 oz Lemon juice
Method:
Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
Shake until chilled.
Garnish with an orange slice & brandied cherry.
7. Gold Rush
This is basically a whiskey sour with honey syrup, but oh what a difference it makes!
Ingredients:
2 oz Bourbon
0.75 oz 2:1 Honey syrup
0.75 oz Lemon juice
Method:
Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
Shake until chilled.
Garnish with a lemon twist.
8. Waikiki Mule
How we mule on Oahu.
Ingredients:
2 oz Bourbon
0.5 oz Lilikoi syrup (Passionfruit)
4 oz Ginger beer
Method:
Add bourbon and syrup to a glass with ice, stir.
Finish with ginger beer.
Garnish with a lime twist.
That’s it! 8 bourbon based cocktail recipes. Try them at your next cocktail hour and enjoy.
