Sips & Synopsis

• This Weeks Makings

• Trivia Question

• Drink of the Week - Bourbon Peach Lemonade

• The Mixing Bourbon Guide

• Bonus Cocktails

• Mocktail Moment - Sparkling Peach Lemonade

This Weeks Makings.

Memorial Day weekend is almost here.

The first long weekend of summer. The official handoff from "we should grill more" to actually firing up the grill.

Every year, this is the weekend I pull my outdoor glassware back out, restock the bar cart, and remember why warm-weather cocktails feel like a totally different category.

This week's drink was built for the moment.

Bourbon, fresh peaches, a hit of bright lemon, and just enough honey to make it taste like sunset on a back porch.

In this issue:

• A Drink of the Week that turns bourbon into a hot weather staple

• The truth about which bourbon you actually need for cocktails (and which to save for sipping)

• Two bonus cocktails for the guests who don't reach for whiskey

• A trivia question that might surprise you

• A mocktail that holds its own next to everything else on the table

Trivia Question ❓

True or False: By law, bourbon must be made in Kentucky.

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter

Bourbon Peach Lemonade

Bourbon meets stone fruit. Built for the long weekend.

Ingredients

• 2 oz bourbon

• 1 oz fresh peach puree (or peach syrup)

• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice

• 0.5 oz honey syrup

• Soda water to top

• Peach slice and fresh thyme to garnish

Directions

1. Add bourbon, peach puree, lemon juice, and honey syrup to a shaker with ice

2. Shake until well chilled

3. Strain over fresh ice in a tall glass

4. Top with soda water

5. Garnish with peach and thyme

Why It Works

Bourbon can feel heavy in summer if you let it. Lemon and peach cut right through that weight. The honey rounds out the lemon's bite. Soda water lifts the whole thing into something you could sip on the porch for hours.

Behind the Bar - The Mixing Bourbon Guide

There's a myth in cocktail world that better bourbon makes better cocktails.

It doesn't always.

The truth is, an expensive bourbon you'd sip neat will lose most of its nuance the moment you shake it with citrus, syrup, and ice. You stop tasting the wood and caramel notes and start tasting your mixers.

What you actually want in a mixing bourbon:

• 80 to 100 proof, so it can stand up to citrus without disappearing

• A higher-corn mash bill for that smooth, slightly sweet backbone

• Not too aggressively oaky (save the heavily aged stuff for sipping)

A few solid mixing bourbons in the $20 to $35 range:

• Buffalo Trace

• Old Forester 86

• Wild Turkey 101 (a little hotter, perfect when a cocktail needs backbone)

Save the Eagle Rare, Blanton's, and small-batch bottles for after dinner. They deserve a glass and your full attention.

A few tools that make bourbon cocktails better at home:

• Highball glasses for tall cocktails like the one above

• Jigger set for accurate measuring (eyeballing bourbon is how drinks get too strong)

• Large ice cube tray for slower-melting ice in lowball cocktails

The cocktail is only as good as the way you build it.

Bonus Cocktails

Blueberry Vodka Lemonade

Bright, easy, and ridiculously photogenic.

Ingredients

• 2 oz vodka

• 1 oz blueberry syrup

• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice

• Soda water to top

• Fresh mint and a small handful of blueberries to garnish

Directions

Shake vodka, blueberry syrup, and lemon juice with ice until chilled. Strain over fresh ice in a tall glass. Top with soda water. Garnish with mint and blueberries.

Why it works

The deep blue and bright lemon make this one of the most photogenic cocktails you can serve, and the berry flavor balances the vodka without ever feeling syrupy.

The Dark and Stormy

Three ingredients. Real attitude.

Ingredients

• 2 oz dark rum

• 0.5 oz fresh lime juice

• 4 oz ginger beer

• Lime wedge to garnish

Directions

Fill a tall glass with ice. Add lime juice and ginger beer. Slowly pour the dark rum over the back of a spoon so it floats on top. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Why it works

The dark rum and spicy ginger beer create that signature stormy effect when the rum floats over the ginger beer. Refreshing, snappy, and ridiculously easy.

Mocktail or Zero Proof Option

Sparkling Peach Lemonade

Bright, refreshing, and just as worthy of a glass.

Ingredients

• 1 oz fresh peach puree (or peach syrup)

• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice

• 0.5 oz honey syrup

• Soda water

• Peach slice and fresh thyme to garnish

Directions

Add peach puree, lemon juice, and honey syrup to a tall glass with ice. Stir gently to combine. Top with soda water. Garnish with a peach slice and a sprig of fresh thyme.