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Easy bourbon cocktails: You don’t need to be an expert to make these drinks

No advanced degree required to make these bourbon cocktails

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Manhattan cocktail
OurWhisky Foundation / Unsplash

Bourbon is one of our favorite spirits, with its long history and timeless style and flavors, and as well as drinking it neat  — we also love using it for easy bourbon cocktails. While there are some great classic bourbon cocktails that everyone should know, some of these can be a bit complicated and require long lists of ingredients or particular bartending tools and techniques.

Although it is great fun to learn about complex cocktails, sometimes you just want something simple. If you’re just getting started out in the world of cocktails and you’re looking for easy drinks to get you going, then bourbon is a great choice of spirit to work with. You’ll find a selection of easy bourbon cocktails that taste great but don’t require a hugely well-stocked bar or a degree in mixology.

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Our favorite easy bourbon cocktails

Bourbon bottle
iStock

If you enjoy entertaining and you like the sweet, mellow flavor of bourbon whiskey, it would behoove you to learn at least a few bourbon cocktails. Lucky for you, there are a few bourbon-based cocktails that require very few ingredients and steps. Don’t believe us? Keep scrolling to see some of our favorite easy bourbon cocktails.

Gold Rush

Gold Rush cocktail
Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock

When it comes to contemporary bourbon-based cocktails, it’s tough to beat the flavor and simplicity of the Gold Rush. Created in 2001 at New York’s iconic Milk & Honey, it was created by a friend and business partner of owner Sasha Petraske named T.J. Siegal. Instead of asking for a classic whiskey sour, he asked for the drink to be made without egg white and with honey syrup instead of simple syrup. The drink itself consists of bourbon, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and honey syrup.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces of bourbon whiskey
  • 3/4 ounce of honey syrup
  • 3/4 ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

1. Add ice to a shaker.
2. Pour the bourbon, honey syrup, and freshly squeezed lemon juice into the shaker.
3. Shake vigorously to combine.
4. Strain the ingredients into an ice-filled Old Fashioned or rocks glass.
5. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Old Fashioned

Old Fashioned
Pylyp Sukhenko / Unsplash

There are very few cocktails as flavorful and simple as the classic Old Fashioned. Made with muddled sugar, Angostura bitters, and water paired with bourbon whiskey, it’s as easy to make as it is to drink. The Old Fashioned was created in 1880 at Louisville’s Pendennis Club by bartender and whiskey pioneer James E. Pepper (who now has a whiskey produced in his honor).

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces of bourbon whiskey
  • 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters
  • 1 sugar cube
  • 1-2 dashes of water

Method

1. In an Old Fashioned glass, place a sugar cube.
2. Add 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitter and 1-2 dashes of water.
3. Muddle everything together until everything is dissolved.
4. Add ice to the glass before pouring the bourbon in.
5. Gently stir to combine.
6. Add an orange peel and cocktail cherry to garnish.

Bourbon highball

Bartender making a whiskey highball
Our Whiskey Foundation / Unsplash

When it comes to simple, refreshing bourbon-based cocktails, they don’t get much easier than the Bourbon Highball. At its most basic, the drink is made with bourbon whiskey, soda water, and ice. That’s it. You can swap out the soda water for any sparkling water or ginger ale if you so desire. The first reference to a Whiskey Highball was in 1895. This was when C.F. Lawlor’s bartending book called ‘The Mixicologist’ featured a similar drink called the “Splificator” which consisted of whiskey and water.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces of bourbon whiskey
  • A soda water topper

Method

1. Add ice to a highball or pint glass.
2. Pour in the bourbon whiskey.
3. Top with soda water.
4. Stir gently to combine.
5. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Bourbon Manhattan

Manhattan cocktail
Drew Beamer / Unsplash

There are many theories about the Manhattan cocktail’s origin, but the most common tale takes us to the 1870s. This is when Dr. Iain Marshall supposedly created the drink at the Manhattan Club in New York City at a banquet hosted by Winston Churchill’s mother. Similar to the Old Fashioned, the drink is often made with rye or Canadian whiskey, but you can also make it with bourbon. On top of the whiskey, the drink contains red vermouth and Angostura bitters.

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces of bourbon whiskey
  • 3/4 ounce of sweet red vermouth
  • 1-2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Method

1. Add ice to a mixing glass.
2. Pour the bourbon whiskey, vermouth, and a few dashes of bitters into the glass.
3. Stir gently to combine.
4. Strain the ingredients into a chilled cocktail glass.
5. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.

What is the best bourbon cocktail for beginners?

A Boulevardier cocktail with orange skin on a wooden table.
One of the greatest bourbon cocktails is also one of the simplest to make, and if you enjoy a Negroni, then you’ll want to try this variation, too. The Boulevardier is a Negroni riff that swaps in bourbon in place of gin, meaning it’s a simple combination of three equal parts to make one delicious whole.

How to make a Boulevardier

This is truly a drink that anyone can make, as it doesn’t even need any special equipment, but it’s complex enough to please even experienced cocktail drinkers. If you want something to introduce you to the flavors of the spirit and to the world of mixing cocktails, then the Boulevardier is a great place to start.

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce bourbon
  • 1 ounce sweet vermouth
  • 1 ounce Campari

Method

  1. Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir well.
  2. Strain into a rocks glass with more ice in it.
  3. Garnish with a lemon peel.
  4. If you don’t have a mixing glass, you can build the drink directly in the glass. Just remember to add ice and give it a good stir before drinking.
Christopher Osburn
Christopher Osburn
Writer
Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional
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