These cocktails are ones that we over here at Barrels and Mash enjoy on a regular basis, if we don’t drink it, we don’t post it. Simple as that, cheers!
Bourbon Strong Tonic
2 ounces of bourbon (Knob Creek Small Batch, keep in mind, the better your bourbon, the better your cocktail)
1 ounce of Strong Tonic
Roughly 3 ounces of soda water (Le Croix mango or coconut are pretty delicious)
Stir and strain into a coupe glass, over ice, garnish with citrus.
Strong Tonic is locally made here in Oklahoma, it’s delicious. If you have some local tonic or other mixers support them!
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Le Croix-tail (la-qwah-tale; pronouciation optional)
2 ounces of Bourbon (Four Roses Small Batch)
4 ounces of Le Croix (any flavor you fancy, prefer the flavored for this drink)
1 teaspoon of simple syrup
Pour all into a high ball glass over ice, stir, enjoy.
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His and Hers Hot Toddys
1 ounce of Bourbon (His was Booker’s Center Cut, Hers was Old Forester 1870)
8 ounces of tea (Tea Forte Lemon Sorbetti)
2 teaspoons of local honey (Andrews Orange Blossom Honey)
1 orangic lemon slice
Bring water to a boil in a kettle, pour over tea and steep for no longer than three minutes. Add honey, Bourbon, and lemon slice. Enjoy.
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Kris’ Old Fashioned
2 ounces of rye (Whistlepig 10 for the win)
2 dashes angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters
1 tablespoon simple syrup
orange peel
1 big ass ice cube or sphere
There are tons of ways to make an Old Fashioned (muddled fruit, weird garnishes, crazy bitters, etc.), and I have put a lot of time in to figure out my favorite variation. At the end of the day, I ended up preferring the most simple version, using rye as the base (Bourbon results in too sweet of a cocktail for me). No muddled fruit, no fancy garnishes other than a cherry and an orange peel, and no crazy bitters. This version distracts the least from the rye, so use a good one and you’ll have a great cocktail.
Chill a tumbler (putting the giant ice thing in it and throwing it in the freezer makes it easy to prep the glass ahead of time). Mix the rye, bitters, and simple syrup over ice. Strain into the frozen glass. Twist the orange peel over the glass, releasing the oils, then rub the peel around the rim and drop it on in there.
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Kate’s Manhattan
Also, my favorite. Yum.
2 ounces of Bourbon(1792 Port Finish is yummy, finished Bourbons are great in Manhattans)
1 ounce of Sweet Vermouth
1 dash of angostura bitters
1 Bourbon cherry* and a bit of the juice
Lemon rind swirl (technical term)
Chill a coupe/martini glass with ice. Combine in a different container, Bourbon, sweet vermouth, bitters, and yummy cherry juices over ice and stir. Empty prepped glass of ice. Strain drink into glass. Garnish with lemon rind swirl and enjoy.
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Rob Roy
Exactly the same ingredients as the Manhattan BUT choose a Scotch or an Amercian Malt Whiskey. Stranahan’s is very delicious, also Pearse Lyons.
Kris really loves his Rob Roy with Stranahan’s.
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The Best of Both Worlds created by our friend Jennifer Postlethwaite.
1 ounce of Bourbon, she used Maker’s Mark (Kate note: the bolder the Bourbon, the more you taste)
4 ounces of red wine, preferably Cabernet or Zinfandel, she used Toasted Head Cabernet or Rosenblum Zinfandel
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Bourbon Sour
Though, I’m a huge Manhattan fan, sometimes I’m in the mood to switch it up with a sour especially if I have a few extra lemons lying around. And, I’m totally a whiskey sour convert!!!
1 ounce of fresh squeezed lemon juice (fresh is best when it comes to a whiskey sour.)
1 ounce of simple syrup (brown sugar simple syrup, not as pretty but oh so good)
2 ounces of whiskey (I like Jefferson’s Single Barrel or Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit)
1 Large Egg White *Optional*
Chill tumbler glass with ice. Combine all ingredients into a shaker with ice, shake shake shake. Shake, shake, shake, shake your cocktail, shake your cocktail! Pour out the ice that was chillin’ your tumbler, strain Whiskey sour into glass and garnish with a Bourbon Cherry*. Yum-o!
Sometimes, if I’m in the mood for a heartier sour I add egg white, otherwise the regular is just as delicious.
Or! You can make homemade sour syrup**.
3/4 cup of brown sugar (looks ugly, tastes amazing)
3/4 of water
3/5 dashes of bitters (I used lemon bitters)
1 cup of FRESH SQUEEZED lemon juice (side note: 1 lemon is roughly 1 ounce of liquid)
*If you are interested in my Bourbon Cherries recipe for use in some of these drinks, you can find that here. I love my Bourbon cherries, but I still can’t beat that amazing Luxardo Cherry, damn them with their deliciousness! ??
**Sour syrup mix, my Istagram buddy @billalex turned me on to homemade sour mix, but you know me, I had to tweak it a little and make it mine. I only use it for Bourbon sours, so I only use lemons, plus, I’m partial to brown sugar syrup. Here it is…
1 1/2 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar (less pretty, tastes better)
2 cups of lemon juice
5-8 dashes of lemon bitters
Create simple syrup, let cool, add lemon juice and bitters. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Literally.
Side note: Normal lemons are about 1 ounce of liquid.
When using homemade sour syrup the ratio is one to one. 2 ounces of Bourbon or due to 2 ounces of sour syrup.
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FYI: When you are garnishing a drink or using zest/peel, try to use organic fruit whenever possible. Quality matters.