Happy National Bourbon Day!
(Source: whatoncewasbeautiful)
You might have noticed the frequency of our posts has slowed down a bit lately. We’d been conserving our bourbon, saving it exclusively for our blog posts and trying to provide recipes for you as long as we could. But now we’re out of bourbon.
Don’t worry, though; it’s only temporary. We’re taking a brief hiatus from There Will Be Bourbon while we make our way back to the Pacific Northwest. We may post a sporadic Weekending post, but for the most part our attention will be directed at getting ourselves settled in Portland, OR. Until then, we hope you’ll find something delicious to enjoy in our archive. We’ll see you on the Best Coast, where there will be bourbon.
Happy weekending!
(Source: patruby)
Improved Boulevardier Cocktail
We are big fans of the Boulevardier. It’s one of those classic bourbon cocktails that always hits the right spot. Obviously, we were intrigued by the “improved” Boulevardier from Manhattan Cocktail Classic, especially with the presence of absinthe.
Improved Boulevardier
1½ oz. Bourbon
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Sweet vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash absinthe
2 dashes Maraschino liqueuer
In a mixing glass with ice, combine all ingredients and stir until mixed. Strain into a lowball glass with ice. Garnish with an orange twist.
We’re not entirely sure this improved the Boulevardier, mainly because the bar was already set so high, but this is a very good cocktail. While it still has the bright color, this version tastes a bit more complex. Cutting the amount of bourbon from two ounces to one and a half—along with the addition of the absinthe—makes the Campari and vermouth more noticeable.
Elderflower Esprit
We are taken with the entire line of Thomas Henry products, which are packed with flavor and about as fresh and natural as packaged products can get. One of our favorites is their new elderflower tonic, which was the inspiration for this cocktail.
Elderflower Esprit
2 oz. Bourbon
1 oz. Lemon juice
½ oz. Amaro
Elderflower tonic
Combine first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to mix and strain into a lowball glass with ice. Top with elderflower tonic and garnish with a mint sprig.
This cocktail is light and refreshing. The amaro (we used a homemade version) adds bitterness and balances the bourbon spice and citrus. Be sure to slap the mint against your palm to release its aroma before garnishing.
Even though this nightcap was on partly Thomas Henry’s tab, we will always review products honestly. Contrary to popular belief, free drinks don’t automatically taste better.
Summertime Smash
June announced its presence boldly this week, blasting us with 90+ degree weather. Obviously, this was the perfect time for us to make the Summertime Smash from the Five O’Clock Cocktail.
Summertime Smash
1 oz. Bourbon
1 oz. Frangelico
1 tsp. Sugar or simple syrup
Bitter lemon soda (or any lemon-flavored seltzer)
Mint leaves
Put the mint leaves in a lowball or highball glass, whichever you prefer. Add the sugar or simple syrup. (If you’re using sugar, you’ll want to add water or some of the lemon seltzer to help dissolve the sugar.) Muddle the sugar and mint, then fill the glass with ice. Add bourbon and Frangelico. Top with lemon seltzer. Garnish with a mint sprig or lemon twist.
As its name suggests, this is a refreshing summertime cocktail. Adding the bitter lemon provides just the right hint of lemon without overpowering the drink, and the Frangelico makes the cocktail slightly more complex than a normal whiskey smash. We’re still loving our Thomas Henry products, so we put their bitter lemon to use, but if you don’t have bitter lemon on hand, you can do as the original recipe called for and spike seltzer with lemon.
Now that we’re all enjoying summertime cocktails, we might as well mix up a few drinks, relax, and blast this DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince classic:
Even though this nightcap was on partly Thomas Henry’s tab, we will always review products honestly. Contrary to popular belief, free drinks don’t automatically taste better.
More cocktail art by Patrick. This is the game set match cocktail. Prints can be purchased here.
Happy weekending!
The Lion’s Den
Everyone knows that rum is a great warm-weather spirit, so we were excited to try this cocktail that combines the great flavors of rum with bourbon.
The Lion’s Den
½ oz. Bourbon
1¾ oz. Rum
½ oz. Simple Syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 dash Rose water
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir to combine. Strain into a lowball glass with ice and garnish with a lemon twist.
We liked this cocktail, but we’re not sure that we would drink more than one (this can be a good thing). The rose water texture adds a nice smoothness, and of course the taste is distinctive and springy, but be sure to have a very light hand when adding it; rose water can easily become overwhelming. The combination of rum and bourbon was surprisingly successful, if you’re OK with bourbon taking a back seat.
Baltimore Bang
We love any variation of a whiskey sour, and when we saw this one with its literary reference (to Edgar Allan Poe), we were sold.
Baltimore Bang
1½ oz. Bourbon
½ oz. Cognac (or brandy)
¾ oz. Lemon juice
¼ oz. Simple syrup
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to mix and strain into a lowball glass with ice. Garnish with an orange twist.
This cocktail is quite good, and you can really taste the brandy. We used a VSOP brandy because we didn’t have cognac on hand, but we do recommend using cognac if you already have it in your bar. Cognac is both higher quality and a truer hat-tip to Edgar Allan Poe.
Bourbon: The Official spirit of the U.S.A.
Happy weekending!
Cocktails Step-By-Step: The Perfect Guide to Cocktail Making Cookbook
Sometimes we see recipes with directions that have just enough ambiguity to lead to minor disasters. While this isn’t usually a problem with cocktail recipes, we still got excited when we learned about the Cocktails Step-By-Step cookbook by Parragon Books. We love the photography and simple, clean, and organized photos.
The book includes recipes for a wide variety of cocktails using different types of liquor, including a cosmopolitan, Manhattan, caipirinha, and highland fling.
More info on the Cocktails Step-By-Step book can be found here.
