It’s the weekend. The summer is unofficially behind us. The holidays are still pretty far out. It’s cocktail time, folks. And since it’s Bourbon Heritage Month, it’s bourbon cocktail time!
Instead of giving you a single cocktail to enjoy this month, I’m calling out six bourbon cocktails y’all should learn to make at home. ASAP.
These six cocktails are cornerstones of historical and modern cocktail scenes. Beyond that, they’re very manageable at home. You don’t have to sous vide some herbs or venture into a tea shop. No tinctures. Not even any infusions (even though those are pretty easy!). These are all classics because they’re delicious but also because they hit on the greatest idiom of great cocktail mixing: Keep it simple, stupid. I’d add to that with “… and do it right.”
Below, I’m calling out six cocktails to master this month. I assure you that you can make every single one of them at home, so let’s dive right in!
Old Fashioned
Ingredients:
- 3 oz. bourbon whiskey
- 3 dashes of Angostura Bitters
- 0.25 oz. simple syrup
- Barspoon fizzy water
- Orange peel
- Cherry
- Ice
- Large ice cube
Here’s an axiom to live by in cocktail making: Always use great spirit as your base. In this case, I’m using Eagle Rare 10-year Bourbon. Yes, it’s a little harder to get but, wow, does it make an amazing old fashioned. The rest is easily available at any liquor store or grocery store.
If you don’t have access to Eagle Rare, then use Micther’s Small Batch Bourbon. It’s a delicious cocktail whiskey that’s very widely available nationwide.
What You’ll Need:
- Rocks glass
- Mixing jar/glass
- Cocktail strainer
- Jigger
- Pairing knife
- Barspoon
Method:
- Prechill your glass.
- Add the simple syrup, bitters, and bourbon to a mixing glass, and then add two large handfuls of ice.
- Stir the drink until it’s ice-cold to touch — about 20 seconds.
- Strain the drink into the prechilled glass over a large ice cube.
- Express the orange oils over the glass and drop in the peel with a dark cocktail cherry. Serve.
Bottom Line:
This is so creamy and delicious. There’s this layer of oaky earthiness (that Buffalo Trace vibe) that shines through the sweetness of the sugar that takes this drink to a whole new level.
Overall, this is one of the best old fashioneds you can drink.
Boulevardier
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. bourbon
- 1 oz. sweer vermouth
- 1 oz. Campari
- Ice
- Large ice cube
- Orange peel
- Lemon peel
I’m using Eagle Rare 10-year Bourbon again. It’s just a great addition to any cocktail. I’m also using a slightly lighter and more floral vermouth in Noilly Prat. Of course, the Campari is irreplaceable.
What You’ll Need:
- Rocks glass
- Mixing glass
- Cocktail strainer
- Barspoon
- Fruit Peeler
- Jigger
Method:
- Prechill the glass in the freezer.
- Add the bourbon, vermouth, and Campari into a mixing glass, add a handful of ice, and then stir until the glass is ice-cold to touch (about 20-30 seconds).
- Fetch the rocks glass from the freezer and strain the cocktail into the glass over a large cube of ice.
- Express the oils from the lemon and orange peel over the glass and discard the peels. Serve.
Bottom Line:
This is deep and fresh at the same time. The bourbon adds a nice sweet nutty earthiness to the bitterness of the Campari and floral sweetness of the vermouth. The addition of lemon and orange oils really makes the whole thing pop with brightness.
Whiskey Sour
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz. bourbon
- 0.75 oz. fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 oz. simple syrup
- 1 dash of Angostura Bitters
- 1 egg white
- Cherry
- Ice
A whiskey sour really is all about that frothy sugar, lemon, and egg white vibe. Still, you’ll want a good whiskey base and Heaven Hill Bottled-In-Bond is a classic Kentucky bourbon with the exact right spicy sweetness to accent this cocktail perfectly.
Quick note — use a farm-fresh egg. The fresher the egg, the better the froth and taste will be.
What You’ll Need:
- Coupe, Nick and Nora, or small rocks glass
- Cocktail shaker
- Cocktail strainer
- Jigger
- Fruit peeler
- Hand juicer
- Cocktail stick
Method:
- Prechill the glass in the freezer.
- Add the bourbon, lemon juice, syrup, bitter, and egg white, to a cocktail shaker. Affix the lid and shake vigorously for about 15 seconds (hold the lid tight as a vacuum seal will not form thanks to there being no ice in the shaker).
- Open the shaker, add a big handful of ice and reshake the cocktail for about 15 to 20 seconds or until the shaker is ice-cold to touch.
- Strain the cocktail into the prechilled glass, making sure to shake out all the foam.
- Add a cherry for garnish and serve.
Bottom Line:
This is the most refreshing cocktail on the list. It takes a little extra effort with that dry shake, but it’s 100% worth it. You’ll greeted with a soft and almost effervescent sipper that moves from lemon meringue toward boozy bourbon smash vibes towards a bright eye-opener on a hot day. Delicious.
Horse’s Neck
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. bourbon
- 4 oz. ginger ale
- 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
- Orange peel
- Ice
Okay, this a highball but it still fits with our bourbon cocktail theme. I’m sticking with Heaven Hill here but adding in a sharper/spicier ginger ale with Fever Tree. It adds a deeper dimension than your average over-sugary ginger ale.
What You’ll Need:
- Highball glass
- Straw
- Fruit Peeler
- Jigger
Method:
- Fill the highball glass with ice.
- Add the bourbon and Angostura Bitters to the glass and then top with ginger ale.
- Express the orange oils from the peel over the glass and then drop the peel into the glass. Serve with a straw.
Bottom Line:
This is dangerously easy to drink. It’s amazingly refreshing while having a spicy orange-forward brightness that makes it beautifully quaffable. This is so easy to make that it might well become your new house pour.
Paper Plane
Ingredients:
- 0.75 oz. bourbon
- 0.75 oz. Aperol
- 0.75 oz. Amaro
- 0.75 oz. fresh lemon juice
- Lemon peel
- Ice
While the original recipe for this cocktail calls for Amaro Nonino (which is a lighter amaro), you can use any amaro really. And I like dark amaros in this cocktail so I’m using Ramazzotti. It adds a more spicy/botanical vibe and just gives it that extra layer of depth. Like the Campari in the boulevardier, the Aperol is irreplaceable here too.
What You’ll Need:
- Coupe, Nick and Nora, or cocktail glass
- Cocktail shaker
- Cocktail strainer
- Hand juicer
- Pairing Knife
- Jigger
Method:
- Prechill the glass in the freezer.
- Add the bourbon, Aperol, Amaro, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice. Affix the lid and shake for 15-20 seconds until the shaker is ice-cold to touch. Don’t shake endlessly. This is a delicate drink
- Fetch the glass from the freezer and strain the cocktail into it. Express the lemon oils over the glass and discard the peel. Serve.
Bottom Line:
This is the perfect end-of-summer cocktail. It’s light but so freaking deep with dark botanicals and spices accented by light and almost fun bourbon and lemon vibes. This is a crusher.
Manhattan
Ingredients:
- 3 oz. bourbon whiskey
- 0.75 oz. sweet vermouth
- 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
- Orange peel
- Cherry
- Ice
The star of the show in a Manhattan is the base whiskey, so I always make it a killer one. In this case, I’m using Michter’s 10-year Single Barrel Bourbon. Yes, it’s expensive and rare. But it makes an extraordinary cocktail. Again, if you can’t access the Michter’s 10-year, replace it with the Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon. It’ll get the job done.
And since it’s still warm out, I’m using a lighter French vermouth. If we were deep in winter, I’d replace that with a darker and more syrupy Italian vermouth, but we’re not there yet.
What You’ll Need:
- Coupe or cocktail glass
- Mixing jar/glass
- Cocktail strainer
- Jigger
- Pairing knife
- Barspoon
Method:
- Prechill the glass in the freezer.
- Add the bourbon, sweet vermouth, and bitters in a mixing glass, and then add two handfuls of ice.
- Stir the drink until it’s ice-cold — about 20 to 30 seconds.
- Strain the cocktail into a prechilled glass, express the orange oils and discard the peel, and then add the cherry. Serve.
Bottom Line:
This is the drink to master. It’s uncutious, dark, and delicious. It goes down so easily. I guarantee that you’ll be making more of these throughout all of Bourbon Heritage Month.
