No home bar is complete without at least one bottle of whiskey, and if you’re a fan of mixing classic cocktails at home, then we’d argue that the best type of whiskey for mixing up a range of drinks is bourbon. Bourbon is just one type of whiskey, but it’s used in a range of classic bourbon cocktails that are delicious and easy to enjoy, and it’s particularly well suited to cocktails for the summertime.
It’s not only a warm-weather spirit, though, as along with summer hits like the mint julep, you can enjoy bourbon in cozy cold-weather cocktails like the Old Fashioned. Bourbon can do it all, thanks to its complex flavors encompassing fruit, sweetness, woody notes, vanilla, and much more. Learn how to show off these varying flavors in some of the all-time greats of the cocktail world.
Classic bourbon cocktails
All you need (besides a few simple ingredients) to start your bourbon cocktail journey is a decent bottle of bourbon. You don’t have to spend the equivalent of a car payment to get one. Countless bottles in the $30-60 range are perfectly suited for slow-sipping or mixing.
Once you find one you like (we prefer Wild Turkey 101, Elijah Craig, and Knob Creek), you can easily mix up a few classic drinks. We’re talking about the likes of the Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour, Boulevardier, Paper Plane, and more. Keep scrolling to see some of our favorite classic bourbon cocktails and even learn how to make them.
Paper Plane
Is it too soon to call a cocktail made in 2008 a classic? We don’t think so. The Paper Plane was created by Sam Ross and Sasha Petraske for Chicago’s Violet Hour. Named for the M.I.A. song “Paper Planes,” it’s a take on the classic Last Word. This exceptional cocktail is made with bourbon, Italian amaro, Aperol, and fresh lime juice. It’s boozy, tart, and extremely complex.
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce of bourbon whiskey
- 1 ounce of Italian amaro
- 1 ounce of Aperol
- 1 ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice
Method:
1. Add ice to a shaker.
2. Pour bourbon, amaro, Aperol, and freshly squeezed lemon juice into the mixer.
3. Shake vigorously to combine.
4. Strain the ingredients into a chilled cocktail glass.
Old Fashioned
Good luck finding a more well-known bourbon-based cocktail than the classic Old Fashioned. Luckily, it’s as simple to make as it is popular. This beloved drink is made with muddling sugar,
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 ounces of bourbon whiskey
- 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters
- 1 sugar cube
- 1-2 dashes of water
Method:
1. Add a sugar cube to an Old Fashioned glass.
2. Saturate the sugar cube with a few dashes of
3. Add a dash or two of water.
4. Muddle the ingredients together to combine them.
5. Add ice to the glass.
6. Pour in the bourbon whiskey.
7. Stir slowly to combine.
8. Garnish with a cocktail cherry and an orange peel.
Boulevardier
A bourbon-based riff on the Negroni, the Boulevardier was first created in the 1920s in Paris. The first reference to it was in 1927 in the French cocktail book ‘Barflies and Cocktails’. Like many cocktails, it was seemingly lost to time until the cocktail renaissance resurrected it. While the classic Negroni is a gin-based drink, the Boulevardier removes to juniper, botanical spirit in favor of sweet, mellow bourbon while still keeping the sweet vermouth and Campari.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 ounces of bourbon
- 1 ounce of Campari
- 1 ounce of sweet vermouth
- Grapefruit twist (for garnish)
Method:
1. Add ice to a mixing glass.
2. Gently stir to combine all the ingredients.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or rocks glass.
4. Garnish with an orange peel.
Brown Derby
Like all cocktails, the Brown Derby has a bit of a muddled history. Many believe that its origins are sometime in the 1930s, and a bartender at the Vendôme Club in Los Angeles created it. It was named for a famous diner that was situated near the bar. A sour, tart, and sweet combination, this iconic cocktail features bourbon whiskey, honey syrup, and freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces of bourbon whiskey
- 3/4 ounce of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- 1/2 ounce of honey syrup (or maple syrup)
Method:
1. Add ice to a shaker.
2. Pour the bourbon whisky, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, and honey syrup (or maple syrup) into the shaker.
3. Shake vigorously to combine.
4. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
5. Garnish it with a grapefruit peel.
Mint julep
Historically associated with the Kentucky Derby, the mint julep is a favorite drink for summertime, thanks to its refreshing mint flavors and generous heapings of crushed ice. It’s also a relatively simple drink, with only small additions so that the flavors of the bourbon can really shine. The drink famously has its own style of vessel, called a Julep cup and often made out of copper or other metal rather than glass. While the Julep cup isn’t strictly necessary to make the drink — you could also use a rocks glass — it does add a touch of distinctive fun.
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces bourbon
- 8 -12 fresh mint leaves
- 1/4 ounce simple syrup
Method:
- Take a Julep cup and gently muddle the mint leaves and the simple syrup at the bottom. You can either use a muddler or the back of a spoon for this.
- Pour in the bourbon.
- Add crushed ice to fill the cup.
- Garnish with a mint sprig. Optionally, you can also add a dash of bitters on top.
