Cocktails with bourbon: 8 essential drinks.
Bourbon is America's spirit, sweet, vanilla-forward, oak-finished. While rye dominated pre-prohibition cocktails, bourbon took over after Repeal in 1933 and never let go. Here are 8 bourbon cocktails for the 21st-century home bar.
The 8 drinks
1. Old Fashioned
Sugar cube, Angostura, soda, muddle. Add bourbon, big ice cube, orange peel expressed and dropped. Avoid the 'fruit-salad-in-a-glass' version. Build: 2 oz bourbon, 1 sugar cube, 3 dashes Angostura, splash of soda.
2. Mint Julep
Lots of mint muddled in sugar in a julep cup, packed with crushed ice, bourbon poured to fill. More mint on top. Build: 2.5 oz bourbon, 8-10 mint leaves, 0.5 oz simple syrup, crushed ice.
3. Whiskey Sour
Bourbon (or rye), lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white optional. Shaken. Build: 2 oz bourbon, 0.75 oz lemon, 0.75 oz simple, 1 egg white.
4. Boulevardier
Bourbon (or rye), Campari, sweet vermouth, stirred. Negroni's whiskey cousin. Build: 1.5 oz bourbon, 1 oz Campari, 1 oz sweet vermouth, orange twist.
5. Manhattan (bourbon variant)
Bourbon, sweet vermouth, Angostura, brandied cherry. The American whiskey cocktail. Build: 2 oz bourbon, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura.
6. Gold Rush
Bourbon, lemon, honey syrup. Modern classic. Build: 2 oz bourbon, 0.75 oz lemon, 0.75 oz honey syrup (1:1 honey:water).
7. Paper Plane
Equal parts bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, lemon juice. Modern classic. Build: 0.75 oz each.
8. Bourbon Smash
Bourbon, lemon, mint, simple. Shaken with crushed ice. Build: 2 oz bourbon, 0.75 oz lemon, 0.5 oz simple, 8 mint leaves.
About bourbon
Bourbon is whiskey distilled in America from at least 51% corn, aged in new charred oak. Buffalo Trace ($25) is the value workhorse. Maker's Mark ($28) is wheated and softer. Eagle Rare ($35) is the step up. Pappy Van Winkle is the unicorn (good luck finding it under $1500 retail).
FAQ
- Bourbon vs rye, what's the difference in cocktails?
- Bourbon is sweeter and softer (corn-based). Rye is drier and spicier (rye-based). For Manhattans and Old Fashioneds, choose by preference. For Sazerac and Old Pal, rye is structural, bourbon doesn't sub well.
- What's the best bourbon for an Old Fashioned?
- Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, or Old Forester 86, all in the $25-35 range, all built for cocktails. High-proof bourbons (Buffalo Trace at 90 proof; the higher-proof variants at 100+) hold up better against bitters and dilution.
- Should I use simple syrup or sugar cube in an Old Fashioned?
- Sugar cube + soda + muddle is historically correct. Simple syrup is faster and more consistent. Either is acceptable; don't let bartender purists shame you for using simple.
- What does 'bottled in bond' mean?
- U.S. designation: at least 4 years aged, 100 proof, distilled in one season at one distillery. Bottled-in-Bond bourbons (Heaven Hill, Old Granddad BiB, Henry McKenna) are some of the best cocktail values you can find.
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