Bourbon is an excellent whiskey with the aroma of different flavors like oak, caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar, cornbread, nuts, and toffee. You can drink bourbon neat or by adding ice into it.
However, if you only ever have bourbon whiskey with just water or ice, you would be missing out on many more great drinks that you can make with your bourbon.
Cocktails bring out the pungence of bourbon and contrast its flavor with a plethora of sweet or spicy ingredients. They are delicious to drink and have a fantastic aroma.
Even beginners will come to appreciate bourbon cocktails. The best part is that you can make many of these bourbon cocktails at home!
With so many bourbon cocktails that can be made, we wanted to provide a bit of a guide on some of the best. In this article, we present some of the best simple bourbon cocktails that you can make at home.
What Is Bourbon?
Bourbon is a whiskey that is produced only in America. 95 percent of the bourbon originates from Kentucky, though a few other regions in the United States also produce bourbon.
It is a whiskey that contains at least 51 percent corn and other grains like malted barley, rye, and wheat. The distillers don’t add any additives to the bourbon during aging.
The bourbon whiskey always ages in new charred oak barrels for at least two years. But some of the bourbon whiskeys age for more than ten years. The longer the bourbon is aged, the more the flavor it acquires.
At bottling, the bourbon whiskey should have a minimum ABV of 40 percent.
Best Simple Cocktails With Bourbon
Here are some of the best simple cocktails with bourbon that you can make with relative ease at home.
#1. Old Fashioned
The old-fashioned is a fairly popular cocktail and very delicious. Below are the ingredients and procedures for making this fabulous drink.
Ingredients
- Brown sugar- ½ teaspoon
- Angostura bitters – 3 dashes
- Bourbon – 2 ounces
- Orange peel for garnishing
- Water – 2 to3 tablespoons
Procedure
- Take your glass and add brown sugar and angostura bitters into it. The Angostura bitters balance the vanilla and caramel flavor of bourbon and enhance the taste of your cocktail.
- Then add two to three teaspoons of water and stir it for some time until the sugar completely dissolves in water.
- Now add bourbon and some ice cubes into your glass tumbler.
- Stir it for some time.
- Garnish it with orange peel.
- Your old-fashioned cocktail is ready to serve.
#2. Manhattan
The Manhattan cocktail is a good cocktail that you can share with your friends. This cocktail uses vermouth as an ingredient. You will want to choose a good quality vermouth for making this cocktail.
Ingredients
- Bourbon – 2 ounces
- Vermouth – 2 ounces
- Syrup – 5 ml
- Angostura bitters – 2 dashes
- Ice cubes
- Maraschino cherry
Procedure
- Mix bourbon, vermouth, syrup, angostura bitters, and some ice cubes.
- Pour the mixture into your glass tumbler.
- Garnish it with a maraschino cherry
- Your Manhattan cocktail is ready to serve.
#3. Bourbon Sour
The bourbon sour is an incredible cocktail, and you can serve it any time of the year. In making sour, you will use raw egg as an ingredient. It makes your cocktail fluffy. Some people may think that raw egg can be unhealthy, while others may just not prefer having egg. In those cases, the egg can be skipped.
Ingredients
- Bourbon – 2 ounces
- Lemon juice – 3 /4 ounce
- Simple syrup – ½ ounce
- Egg white – 1
Procedure
- Take your cocktail shaker and add lemon juice, bourbon, syrup, egg white, and some ice cubes and shake for one minute. The mixture will become cool.
- You can now strain into your glass tumbler.
- Your bourbon sour cocktail is now ready to serve.
#4. Boulevardier Cocktail
The boulevardier cocktail is best for summer and early winter. This drink is smooth and spicy. The red cocktail in the glass tumbler is quite stunning. You can add any other whiskey to this cocktail, but bourbon whiskey can perfectly balance the flavor. It makes the drink more enjoyable.
To make this cocktail, you need only three ingredients, and a cocktail shaker is optional.
Ingredients
- Bourbon whiskey – 1 ¼ ounce
- Vermouth – 1 ounces
- Campari – 1 ounce
- Orange twist (Garnishing)
Procedure
- Mix all the ingredients, including the bourbon whiskey, vermouth, and Campari, with some ice cubes. Everything is going to melt within a few seconds.
- Strain it in your glass tumbler and garnish it with an orange twist.
- Your boulevardier cocktail is now ready.
#5. New York Sour
New York sour is one of the very best bourbon simple syrup cocktails. It is a combination of bourbon, whiskey, and red wine. Some people also say New York sour is a red wine cocktail because the red wine floats on the top of this cocktail and looks fantastic. This drink is great for the warmer seasons.
Ingredients
- Bourbon whiskey – 2ounces
- Lemon juice – 1 ounce
- Simple syrup – 3/4 ounce
- Red wine ½ ounce
Procedure
- First, shake the bourbon whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. You can use maple syrup for this cocktail as a natural sweetener.
- Strain the mixture in your glass.
- Spoon the red wine over the top of your glass. Be very gentle while pouring.
#6. Kentucky Mule
The Moscow mule is quite popular in America. It is a cocktail that consists of vodka, lime, and ginger beer.
Mule is a category of drink. There is another Mule that is quite popular and more delicious to drink than the Moscow mule. In KentuckyMule bourbon whiskey is used in place of vodka. It is one of the best summer bourbon cocktails.
Ingredients
- Bourbon – 2ounces
- Lemon juice – 1/2 ounce
- Ginger beer
- Mint sprig
Procedure
- Add bourbon and lemon juice into your glass.
- Add some ice cubes and ginger beer on top.
- Garnish the cocktail with mint spring
- Your Kentucky mule cocktail is ready to serve.
#7. Bourbon Sidecar
If you like sour cocktails, then the bourbon sidecar is one to try. This cocktail is quite refreshing and easy to make.
Ingredients
- Bourbon whiskey – 2 ounces
- Cointreau – 1 ounce
- Lime juice – 1 ounce
Procedure
- Mix all the ingredients, including bourbon whiskey, Cointreau, and lime juice, in a cocktail shaker with some ice cubes.
- Then strain the mixture into your glass.
- Garnish the cocktail with lemon peel.
- Your Bourbon sidecar cocktail is ready to serve.
#8. Bourbon Apple
Apple lovers should try the bourbon apple cocktail, as adding apple juice along with a few other ingredients will create a drink that has a great apple essence, which bolsters the flavor of your bourbon in a fruity way.
Ingredients
- Bourbon – 2 ounces
- Ginger syrup – 1ounce
- Unfiltered apple juice – 1 ounce
- Lemon juice – 1 ounce
- Black pepper
Procedure
- First, make a ginger syrup by taking 2 ounces of ginger, 1 cup of sugar, and one cup of water. Mix everything and allow it to simmer for at least fifteen to twenty minutes. You can cool it and store it in the refrigerator.
- To make a bourbon apple cocktail, you need to combine all the ingredients like bourbon, ginger syrup, unfiltered apple juice, lemon juice, and some black pepper and shake in a cocktail shaker.
- Pour the mixture into your glass.
- Garnish your cocktail with an apple.
#9. Gold Rush Cocktail
The gold rush cocktail is classy and quite refreshing. The highlight that brings the drink together is the honey syrup added.
Ingredients
- Bourbon – 2 ounces
- Lemon juice – 3/4 ounces
- Honey syrup – 1 ounce
- Lemon for garnishing
Procedure
- Mix all the ingredients, i.e., bourbon, lemon juice, and honey syrup, in a cocktail shaker.
- Add the mixture to your glass.
- Garnish it with lemon peel.
#10. Whiskey Highball
The Whiskey Highball is tall and bubbly. It originated in the 20th century, but it still is popular. It is pretty easy to make, and you do not need a cocktail shaker.
Ingredients
- Bourbon whiskey
- Soda water
- Lemon
Procedure
- Mix all the ingredients and serve them in your glass tumbler.
- You have the option of either mixing in soda water or ginger beer. Ginger beer adds an additional warm, tangy sweetness while using soda water will allow the bourbon to shine on its own a bit more.
#11. Rosemary Bourbon Cocktail
The rosemary simple syrup bourbon cocktail is a slight twist from another cocktail. Here you need to add rosemary syrup instead of simple syrup into the cocktail. It makes for a great Fall season drink.
Ingredients
#1. To make rosemary syrup, you need the following items:
- Three sprigs of rosemary
- Granulated sugar – 6 tablespoon
- Water – 6 tablespoon
#2. To make a rosemary bourbon cocktail:
- Rosemary simple syrup
- Bourbon – 8 ounces
- Lemon juice – 4 ounces
- Some ice cubes
- Rosemary sprigs – optional
Procedure
- Cut the rosemary sprigs gently with your knife on a cutting board.
- Now place a bowl with water and sugar in it. Add the rosemary sprigs into it.
- Allow it to boil for at least 10 minutes. The sugar will completely dissolve in water.
- Now switch off the flame and allow it to cool.
- Refrigerate it and use the syrup whenever you prepare a cocktail.
- Mix all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, i.e., rosemary syrup, bourbon, lemon juice, and some ice cubes.
- Pour the mixture into your glass.
- Garnish it with a rosemary sprig.
#12. Pepper’s Pride
Finishing off our list is another one of the most excellent bourbon cocktails you can make at home.
Ingredients
- Bourbon – 2 ounces
- Oloroso sherry – 10 ounces
- Ancho Reyes chili liqueur – 0.5 ounces
- Benedictine – 0.5 ounces
Procedure
- Mix all the ingredients and shake properly with a cocktail shaker.
- Pour the mixture into your glass and add some ice cubes.
- Garnish it with orange peel.
Parting Words
By creating fresh new takes on bourbon, bourbon cocktails can refresh both your body and mind. I hope this article has helped you learn a few more ways of enjoying your bourbon whiskey. Please let me know your experience in the comment section after trying these bourbon cocktails.
