Peach Bourbon Smash

What do you get when you combine Spring in the Southern hemisphere with bourbon heritage month in the Northern hemisphere? Lots of bourbon cocktails!

Cocktails to celebrate Spring with and bourbon food pairings to try. What an amazing month!  Let’s start Spring off with a delicious Peach Bourbon Smash.  A fresh, easy way to start celebrating.

September – Spring in the Southern hemisphere. My favourite season! There might still be a few cold days ahead, but the days are becoming longer and warmer.

New green leaves are coming out everywhere, and the birds are returning to the garden. After a grey, blustery winter, new life is growing everywhere and slowly turning the dry garden green.

Another benefit of September is bourbon heritage month. What better way to celebrate the turning of the season with some bourbon-based cocktails? The U.S. Senate created bourbon heritage month in 2007.  It designates September as the month to celebrate the “distinctive product of the United States” –bourbon. Not that I need an excuse to drink bourbon.

Also Read: Manhattan Cocktail

Over the last year, I have expanded my whisky collection to include many more bourbons. I fell in love with the sweeter, softer vanilla notes offered by bourbon. Bourbon is versatile, and there have been a few exciting and affordable releases into the South African market.

So, in celebration of Spring and #BourbonHeritageMonth, I start with a wonderful cocktail made with fresh seasonal ingredients. Later in the month, I have a delightful whiskey chocolate pairing, as well as a delicious take on a bourbon coffee, lined up.

Peach Bourbon Smash Recipe

The recipe is adapted from The Little Epicurean and slightly modified.

Ingredients

• 1/2 peach (cut into bite size pieces)
• 4 mint leave
• 5 ml lemon juice
• 60 ml bourbon (I used Heaven Hill bourbon)
• 30 ml water
• 15 ml grenadine syrup
• Ice

Method

• Add the ice in the cocktail shaker or a large glass.
• Add all the ingredients into the shaker / glass and give it a good muddle with a muddle stick (lightly bash the ingredients together to release the flavour of the nectarine and mint leaves).
• Pour into a glass and decorate with a mint sprig and a nectarine slice.
• Makes 1 cocktail.

Also Read:How to make Sangria