September is National Bourbon Heritage Month, which means you have an even better reason to celebrate Bourbon for an entire month. At BourbonBlog.com, we do it every month and we encourage you to as well.

Wild Turkey tells us that have put a unique take on three of the most iconic whiskey cocktails–the Manhattan, the Old Fashioned and the Whiskey Sour–to commemorate National Bourbon Heritage Month. Wild Turkey Bourbon, at 101 proof, delivers a deeper, richer flavor that fits perfectly with these cocktails below. Each cocktail evokes the perfectly balanced profile that has made these drinks real classics, while tweaking them to surprise even a seasoned cocktail enthusiast.

The Manhattan 101

Ingredients:

1 3/4 ounces Wild Turkey Bourbon
1/3 ounce dry vermouth
1/3 ounce sweet vermouth
1 thin slice fresh ginger
3 mint leaves
1/2 tsp powdered sugar
Dash aromatic bitters

Muddle ginger, mint, powdered sugar and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add Wild Turkey Bourbon, vermouth and ice. Shake and strain into a chilled glass.

The Old Fashioned 101

Ingredients:

1 1/3 ounce Wild Turkey Bourbon
1/2 ounce apple cider
3 sage leaves
1 pinch of saffron
1 tsp brown sugar
2 orange twists
1 tsp orange zest
1 fresh cherry
1 ounce Amaretto

Slice cherry from top to bottom five times around pit, and soak in a cup of Amaretto. Muddle cider, sage, saffron, brown sugar, orange twists and zest together in glass. Add Wild Turkey Bourbon and stir. Strain and serve over ice, garnish with Amaretto-soaked cherry.

The Whiskey Sour 101

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces Wild Turkey Bourbon
1/2 ounce fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce honey
1 fresh cherry
1 ounce Wild Turkey American Honey
Dollop of egg white

Slice cherry from top to bottom five times around pit, and soak in a cup of Wild Turkey American Honey. Combine Wild Turkey Bourbon, grapefruit juice, lime juice and honey in a cocktail shaker. Froth egg white and add a dollop to the mixture. Shake and serve over ice. Garnish with Wild Turkey American Honey-soaked cherry.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Glass, while appearing to be smooth and impermeable, has microscopic valleys that can be used to hold flavoring elements. Bartenders regularly use this concept, washing with Absinthe, Vermouth or other spirits. This technique holds smoke, affecting the nose of the cocktail.

Mis-en-place:

¼ lb Smoking wood of choice, in a heat-resistant plate.
Brulee torch
Cocktail or Coupe Glass

Use torch to smoke wood. Invert glass over smoke, for 3-5 seconds. Glass storage lasts for 15 minutes at most.

In a tin:

2 oz. Maker’s 46
½ tsp Dumante Pistachio liqueur
Ice

Shake well. Strain into primed glass. Rim glass with cinnamon stick. Serve without the stick, au naturel.

For maximum effect, use only the cleanest ice one can find as a poor product will mask the flavor profile.
Recipe and article by BourbonBlog.com‘s Mixologist and Beverage Consultant Stephen Dennison

Popularity: 4% [?]

The syrup mentioned in BourbonBlog.com‘s article and creation “Maker’s and Coke, Reengineered” can also be used in a tertiary, or balancing approach. This simple infusion recipe brings a balance to the infusion that is ‘good out of the bottle.’ Shaken, served up. Pretty garnish. Done.

For the syrup:

1 part Coca-cola
1 part Sugar

Bring Coke to a simmer, dissolve sugar. Allow to rest until at room temperature. Store, refrigerated, 2 weeks.

1 lb Blueberries, picked
1.75 L Vodka (we used Vikingfjord Vodka or Tito’s Handmade Vodka)

Empty the vodka out of the bottle until it is at 70% capacity, visual measurement. Add blueberries. Fill with simple syrup. Let sit for 5 days and serve.

- Article and recipe by BourbonBlog.com‘s Mixologist/Beverage Consultant Stephen Dennison

Popularity: 7% [?]

When the staff at BourbonBlog.com first tasted the new Maker’s 46, our heads were awash with ideas for using the newest member of the bourbon family. We finally settled on this recipe as the most appropriate first. The Maker’s and Coke is most likely the single most enjoyed drink in Kentucky. To take the commonplace, turn it upside-down and the present it to the guest in a new form is entertaining, both for the user and the producer.

The soda simple syrup technique was originally designed as a preservation technique for uncommon sodas like root beer, orange or grape. Items not normally found on the bar gun, cans that would be too cumbersome to store behind the bar and whose proportions would inevitably lead to waste (as you would only use ½ of the opened can.) I recommend taking liberties and exploring the technique. You simply are losing the bubbles, adding a nuance of carbonic acid, and preserving the flavor for multiple uses.


For the syrup:

1 part Coca-Cola
1 part Sugar

Bring Coke to a simmer in a small pot. Add sugar and dissolve. Allow to come to
room temperature before storing, refrigerated.

For the Cocktail:

2 oz. Maker’s 46
¼ oz. Syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Twist of Lemon, to garnish

Place all in mixing tin with ice. Shake for 10 seconds after frost forms outside
tin. Serve up, in a cocktail glass. Lemon twist, to garnish.

Article and recipe by BourbonBlog.com‘s Mixologist Stephen Dennison

Popularity: 9% [?]