Blackberry Bourbon Smash
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Fresh blackberries are perfect additions for this bubbly, refreshing Blackberry Bourbon Smash Cocktail. It's a simple cocktail made with juicy blackberries, fresh lime and mint, and soda water that's perfect for a hot summer day.
Welcome to another installment of Thirsty Thursday, a series on Sweet Tea and Thyme where cocktails are the focus every Thursday.
Smashes are considered some of the best cocktails of the season, at least in my house. What's better for entertaining guests in the summer than an easy delicious cocktail mixed together with some of summer's best fruits? The popularity of last summer's hits, the Strawberry Gin Smash and Blueberry Moscow Mule, don't lie, y'all.
Smashes seem to be the hit drink of the hot season. And having sweet blackberries (ooh, especially muddled berries in a big ole pitcher!) for a sweet drink after a long day? The blackberry bourbon smash is the perfect way to bring in (and continue on!) this time of year.
Jump to:
What is a smash cocktail?
I would say, from the research I've done, that smashes like bourbon smash cocktails are derived from mint juleps, an herbaceous and fruity cocktail. The mint julep was a southern elite staple, sought after and famous for the fine artistry the mixologists (most famously Cato Alexander, Jasper Crouch, and John Dabney) put into creating them, shaving ice a foot high --the icebox was a new and expensive invention at the time so only the rich had one-- into silver cups and decorating them with seasonal fruits and edible blossoms.
So the smash is like a mint julep but easier, without all the pomp and circumstance that mint juleps were known for. It usually includes a sweetener, a liquor (and really it can be any liquor: vodka, gin, bourbon whiskey, etc), fresh herbs and seasonal fruit, and ice and water. This is a general list, and many times you'll see modern smashes made with carbonated drinks like club soda, or ginger ale.
Modern smashes also do not remove the fruit and herbs like the original whiskey smash seen in bartender Harry Johnson's Bartender's Manual, where the drink was made in a cocktail shaker and strained into a rocks glass. Oftentimes smashes are made in the glass, and that's exactly what we are doing for this blackberry bourbon smash recipe.
As long as there is liquor, muddled fruit, and sweetener, I would say it's a smash.
How to Make it
I would call this drink...like, a blackberry mojito for whiskey lovers. Some recipes do call for lime wedges to be muddled with the blackberry mixture, but I don't like that personally. Lime skin has pith, the white part beneath the zest, that's really bitter and can make your drink bitter, especially if you are making a large pitcher of it for entertaining. If you want to muddle the zest, strip it from the pith using a vegetable peeler.
In a serving glass with a sturdy, flat bottom, muddle together a squeeze of lime juice, fresh or frozen blackberries, a sprig of fresh mint, and granulated sugar. I know some people like to use simple syrup but I find the grit of the sugar helps release the oils and juices from the mint leaves and the fresh berries, and it's one less step to do. I think of smashes as quick and easy drinks to make, so the less steps the better.
Next, use your favorite bourbon. If not using Kentucky bourbon, use your favorite whiskey just make sure it's a smooth, high quality one. Then add some crushed or cubed ice, fill the cup with your carbonated beverage of choice (for a blackberry moscow mule, use ginger beer!), and stir gently.
And that's really it! Kick back and enjoy the summer evening with one of these in hand, honey.
Pitcher of Blackberry Smash Instructions
To make a nice pitcherful of your summer bourbon smash, you'll need...
- 2 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries, separated. You want to smash about 1 to 1.5 cups of the blackberries, and have some whole for the *a e s t h e t i c*
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
- About ⅓ cup of lime or lemon juice
- ¼ granulated sugar OR simple syrup. In this case, I'd go with the simple syrup so the sweetness can be fully incorporated throughout the drink.
- 2 cups of bourbon
- 2+ cups of club soda or ginger ale
- Crushed Ice
This will fill a 2 quart pitcher, so double it if you have a gallon pitcher. Muddle the blackberries, mint, and lime juice (and granulated sugar, if using instead of the simple syrup) at the bottom of your pitcher, then use a wooden spoon or long cocktail spoon to mix the simple syrup (if using), bourbon, club soda, and ice in the pitcher until nice and cold.
Serve immediately in pretty serving glasses!
Check out these summer ready drinks:
- Watermelon Agua Fresca
- Sweet Tea and Bourbon Cocktail
- Iced Guava Passionfruit Drink (Starbucks copycat)
- Shirley Temples
- Mint Julep a la Dabney
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📖 Recipe
Blackberry Bourbon Smash
Ingredients
- ¼ cup fresh or frozen blackberries
- 4 sprigs fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- Juice of one lime about 1 tbsp
- 2 ounces Kentucky bourbon or whiskey
- Crushed ice
- Club Soda or Ginger Ale
Instructions
- In the bottom of your rocks glass (or a cocktail shaker), use a cocktail muddler to muddle the blackberries, mint, sugar, and lime juice together to dissolve the sugar, release the oils from the mint, and break up the blackberries.
- Add the bourbon, crushed ice, and club soda to fill the glass. Gently stir with a spoon and serve cold.
Notes
To Make a Pitcher of Blackberry Bourbon Smash
To make a nice pitcherful of your summer bourbon smash, you'll need...- 2 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries, separated. You want to smash about 1 to 1.5 cups of the blackberries, and have some whole for the *a e s t h e t i c*
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves
- About ⅓ cup of lime or lemon juice
- ¼ granulated sugar OR simple syrup. In this case, I'd go with the simple syrup so the sweetness can be fully incorporated throughout the drink.
- 2 cups of bourbon
- 2+ cups of club soda or ginger ale
- Crushed Ice
