Top 5 Bourbon-based cocktails for Fourth July

Brooklyn 

A close relation to the Manhattan, more of which later, the Brooklyn, one of five cocktails named after New York boroughs, is made with Bourbon, dry vermouth, Maraschino liqueur, Italian bitters Amer Picon and a few dashes of Angostura bitters. Unlike its more famous cousin, the Brooklyn has fallen under the radar since Prohibition and is largely unknown outside the US, but has built up a cult following in New York in recent years.

The cocktail, which can also be made with rye whiskey, first made its way to print in 1908 in J.A. Grohusko’s Jack’s Manual aimed at bartenders and restaurateurs. While the Manhattan’s star rose, the Brooklyn failed to take off, perhaps due to its more complex ingredients that were hard to get hold of.

The rise in popularity of Italian bitters has helped elevate the drink to new heights in New York, spurning riffs like the Red Hook, created in 2004 by Milk & Honey bartender Vincenzo Errico, which blends rye with Punt e Mes and Maraschino. 

Boulevardier

The grandiosely titled Boulevardier twists on Italian classic the Negroni, switching gin for Bourbon. Made with Bourbon, sweet vermouth and Campari, the cocktail is thought to have been created by American writer, socialite and nephew of railroad tycoon Alfred Vanderbilt, Erskine Gwynne, founder of Parisian monthly magazine the Boulevardier, which was in print from 1927 to 1932.

The drink appeared in super shaker Harry McElhone’s 1927 drinks guide, Barflies and Cocktails, cementing its fame, and was on pour at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. Described as the Negroni’s long lost autumnal cousin, rye whiskey can also be used in place of Bourbon for a similarly sweet and soothing effect. This is one for fans of bittersweet combinations and rich, indulgent drinks. Definitely not a cocktail to start the night with, it’s one to linger over next to a roaring fire with a good book or a seasoned raconteur. 

Mint Julep

The Mint Julep is inextricably linked to the Kentucky Derby. A simple blend of Bourbon, fresh spearmint, sugar and water, the refreshing drink is often served in a frosted pewter cup laden with ice. Coming under the “smash” category of cocktail, the spearmint is crushed to release its essential oils.

The Julep is thought to have originated in America’s Deep South as a medicinal remedy for stomach ache, appearing in print as early as 1784. A little later in 1803, writer John Davis described the drink as “a dram of spirituous liquor that has mint steeped in it taken by Virginians of a morning”.

The word “julep” originates from the Persian word “gulab”, meaning rose water, with some believing that the cocktail has Arabic origins, starting life as a mixture of water and rose petals. In addition to Bourbon, there are twists that use gin, brandy and whisky as a base, with Jerry Thomas allowing for all three in his 1887 Bartenders Guide.

The cocktail’s Kentucky link began in the early-19th century when US senator Henry Clay of Kentucky introduced the drink to the Round Robin bar at the Willard hotel in Washington. The cocktail has been linked to the Derby since 1938, with a staggering 120,000 Juleps served at Churchill Downs racecourse each year during the two-day event in collectible Kentucky Derby glasses.

The cocktail gets a mention in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, with Daisy in particular a fan. Writer William Faulkner was also a lover of the drink and was allowed to blend his own version at the Musso & Frank Grill in LA.

Manhattan

As with many classic cocktails, the origins of the Manhattan are disputed, but one popular theory claims the drink came to be at the Manhattan Club in New York in the early 1870s.

The story goes that one Dr. Iain Marshall created the drink for a banquet in honour of presidential candidate Samuel Tilden hosted by Winston Churchill’s mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, at the Manhattan Club. Legend has it that the drink proved so popular during the dinner that it soon spread outside the club to other New York bars, with punters requesting to try “the Manhattan cocktail”.

The drink consists of a blend of rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters garnished with a Maraschino cherry, with Canadian whisky replacing Bourbon during Prohibition as it was easier to get hold of. It first appeared in print in William Schmidt’s The Flowing Bowl in 1891 in a recipe featuring all the usual ingredients along with two dashes of “gum” (gomme syrup).

The Manhattan is easily twisted on, with the Rob Roy replacing rye with Scotch, the Dry Manhattan made with dry vermouth, the Perfect made with equal parts sweet and dry vermouth, and the Cuban Manhattan made with dark rum. Contrary to popular belief, Manhattans can be both shaken and stirred.

Old Fashioned

Long before Mad Men’s Don Draper got his dirty mits around one, the Old Fashioned has been loosening tongues for over a century. Proving that simple is often best, the drink is a humble mix of Bourbon, sugar, bitters and orange peel.

The name is said to be a hat tip to the tumblers in which the drink is traditionally served, which are also called “old fashioned” glasses, with the name coming into common parlance in the 1880s. Twists on the Old Fashioned feature rum, gin or brandy in place of Bourbon, with nutmeg sometimes used as a garnish instead of orange peel, while other mutations include the addition of orange curaçao and absinthe.

The first public use of the term “Old Fashioned” for the cocktail came in 1881 at the Pendennis gentleman’s club in Kentucky, with the concoction said to have been invented by a bartender in honour Colonel James E. Pepper, a prominent Bourbon distiller who brought the drink to the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.

The recipe begins by dissolving a sugar cube with a little water in a tumbler, then adding two dashes of Angostura bitters and one jigger of Bourbon. Much mixing then ensues, with the end result garnished with a curl of orange peel.