There's nothing quite like a refreshing whiskey cocktail on a hot summer day. I call this drink a Blackberry Smash! It's perfect for sipping by the pool or outdoor BBQ when you want something a little bit stronger than your average iced tea or lemonade.
Stay home this summer and lounge by the pool with this refreshing whiskey cocktail and maybe one of my frozen rosé or my rosé sangria. All you need is some good-quality bourbon, mint, fresh blackberries and a few other simple ingredients.
This recipe is for one drink, but you can easily make a pitcher cocktail for a group. Just multiply the ingredients as needed.
Along with my lavender martini cocktail, this vodka sunrise cocktail is also perfect for summer sipping!
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🛒Ingredients
- Blackberry simple Syrup: You can use either your standard simple syrup, blackberry syrup, or strawberry simple syrup.
- Mint: Fresh mint is an absolute must for this recipe. You could also use basil instead.
- Blackberries: Fresh is a must. Frozen will work if you need.
- Limes: You will definitely want to use fresh limes for this recipe.
- Bourbon: Be sure to use good-quality bourbon. I highly recommend Kentucky bourbon.
- Ginger Beer/Sparking water: This is optional but adds a delicious fizzy taste that makes it much more refreshing in the summer.
How To Make Your Whiskey Cocktail
- Add your blackberries, mint, lime juice and simple syrup along with a few ice cubes to a cocktail shaker or glass and muddle using a muddler.
- Fill the rest of the shaker with ice (crushed ice works great) and add the bourbon.
- Use a spoon to stir all of the ingredients until they are mixed and very cold.
- Use a fine strainer to strain the drink into a glass with ice.
- Garnish the drink with some fresh mint leaves.
📝 Substitutions and Variations
🌿Herbs- you can use fresh basil leaves instead if you do not have any mint on hand. Both would be delicious! Thyme or rosemary would also be tasty.
Sweetener - use my can make your own simple syrup or use honey, agave or maple syrup for added sweetness. Or try making a STRAWBERRY smash using my strawberry simple syrup! Add a touch of heat with my jalapeno syrup!
Citrus- any citrus would work! Try lemons or oranges!
Fruit- If you love fruity drinks, try muddling other berries, cranberries, dates, apricots, peaches, apples, or pineapple for another delicous whiskey smash!
👩🍳Expert Tips
- If you want an extra classy drink, garnish it with a mint sprig or a lime wedge. You could also try some edible flowers or a lime peel spiral.
- This drink is best served cold, so be sure to have plenty of ice on hand.
- This drink is best served in an old fashioned glass like these lowball glasses.
- For some extra sweetness and flavor, try adding some maple syrup.
- Try using fancy ice cubes to make this cocktail more upscale.
🍸Looking for some other classic cocktails to try? Give this Paper Plane Cocktail a shot!
FAQ's
The flavor of a bourbon smash is quite close to a whiskey sour or traditional whiskey smash. The only distinction is that a smash uses the actual citrus and muddles it to extract the juice for a stronger citrus flavor that's perfect in the summer.
Whiskey is a distilled alcohol that is matured in wooden barrels and created from grains like corn and rye. Bourbon is a type of whiskey, and it is matured in brand-new, charred oak barrels. Both are brown liquors and similar in taste.
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Other summer drinks you might like:
Passion Fruit Vodka Martini Cocktail (With Puree)
7 Popular Peach Schnapps Cocktails
📖 Recipe
Summer Whiskey Cocktail
Ingredients
- ¾ ounce simple syrup (see note)
- 8-10 blackberries (about ½ cup)
- 3-4 large mint leaves
- ½ oz fresh lime juice
- 2 ounces bourbon whiskey
- splash ginger beer (OR soda water or seltzer water, chilled)
- ice
- fresh mint and blackberries (for garnish)
Instructions
- Add blackberries, mint leaves, lime juice and simple syrup to the bottom of a cocktail shaker or glass. Muddle to release the blackberry juices and mint oils. Be careful not to over-muddle as the mint may become bitter.
- Transfer to a shaker if not already and add bourbon. Fill with ice, and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a rocks/lowball glass filled with ice.
- Top with ginger beer, club soda or seltzer water. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and a blackberry.
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