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Basil Hayden Bluegrass Punch

By Matt Domino Apr 15, 2014 6:00 AM

It’s no secret that we at The Manual love a good cocktail. We take pride in making sure that we are on top of our mixology game at all times. Not only does it help keep things fresh (I mean, how boring is it to stick to one drink all the time?), but also it helps us know what cocktails work for the right occasions. With April half over and May rapidly approaching, we have a perfect drink for high spring: The Basil Hayden’s Bluegrass Punch.

We’ve already covered our love of Basil Hayden’s Bourbon, so if you don’t know how great it is already, we suggest that you step up your bourbon game right away. But the Bluegrass Punch is a new cocktail that we’re excited about serving to friends over the coming warm weather months.

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For those of us in the cold weather states, April and May signals the start of barbecue season. The Basil Hayden’s Bluegrass Punch is the perfect drink to make in large batches for all of your buddies to sip in the backyard (or on the rooftop for you city dwellers). Plus, with the Kentucky Derby right around the corner, it’s tie-in to the Bluegrass State makes a nice alternative to the classic mint julep for a Derby Day gathering.

Below are the ingredients and steps to making this colorful cocktail, We always suggest using organic juices when you can. Oh and don’t wear white while drinking this concoction- blueberry’s and bleach aren’t fun.

Basil Hayden’s® Bluegrass Punch

Ingredients:

4 parts Basil Hayden’s ® Bourbon

8 parts Blueberry Juice

8 parts Passion Fruit Juice

Sparkling Wine or Club Soda

Fresh Mint Leaves

Method:

1. Add Basil Hayden’s, blueberry juice, passion fruit juice and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake.

2. Top with club soda or sparkling wine

Blueberry Ice Ring (for garnish)

Freeze one bag of frozen blueberries with water in a bunt cake pan. Dip frozen ring into hot water for a few seconds to unmold. Place in punch bowl with blueberry side up.

Matt Domino is a writer living in Brooklyn. His fiction has appeared in Slice and The Montreal Review, while his non-fiction… Read Full Bio

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