Bourbon Cocktails Beyond The Old Fashioned: 6 Lesser-Known Classics To Try

Bourbon is celebrated nationally on Bourbon Day, June 14th, and it’s the perfect reason for discovering some of the lesser-known cocktails made with bourbon. While the Old Fashioned cocktail is one of the most well-known bourbon cocktails, other drinks include a wide variety of mixers, like grapefruit and honey, amaro, coffee and fortified wine. All these show how the flavours from bourbon - caramel, vanilla, oak and spice - work with other ingredients.

Bourbon Cocktails That Deserve Attention Just Like The Old Fashioned Cocktail

The Boulevardier cocktail is bourbon's answer to the Negroni cocktail. The Boulevardier cocktail is composed of bourbon, bitter orange liqueur and sweet vermouth. The Boulevardier cocktail was created during the 1920s and is popularly associated with writer Erskine Gwynne in Paris, France. This drink balances the sweet bourbon with the bitter orange liqueur and highlights the herbal complexity of the sweet vermouth. The result is an exceptionally rich, dark and complex drink, far more so than its gin counterpart.

The Brown Derby cocktail was first mixed in Los Angeles in the 1930s and is made with bourbon, grapefruit juice and honey. One thing that makes this drink unique is how the grapefruit's floral acidity interacts with the bourbon's caramel flavours. The honey serves as a bridge between the two opposing characteristics and leaves the drink with a light essence while retaining enough body and character to stand next to other whisky-based drinks.

The Gold Rush cocktail was created at New York's Milk & Honey in 2000 and is a modern classic. It consists of bourbon, honey and lemon juice. The Gold Rush cocktail is an easier interpretation of the Whisky Sour cocktail, and it places a greater emphasis on how the acidity of the citrus and the round sweetness of the honey interact with the bourbon. The simple structure of the Gold Rush cocktail has contributed to it being one of the enduring classic bourbon cocktails that defined the modern cocktail renaissance.

The Paper Plane cocktail was first created in 2008 and later included in the International Bartenders Association’s official cocktail list. It is made with equal parts bourbon, orange liqueur, amaro, and lemon juice. The resulting combination creates a, for many, perfectly balanced drink with layered flavours. Traditionally served without a garnish, modern-day renditions often recommend a lemon twist. 

Unlike the classic spirit-forward sour cocktails of the past, the Kentucky Buck cocktail has an equal amount of strawberry, lemon, and ginger beer added to the bourbon. It is essentially a bourbon-based Moscow Mule cocktail. Here, the ginger's spiciness and berry notes work to complement the bourbon's oak and vanilla characteristics. It has a very different taste from a typical Whisky Sour cocktail because it relies on fruit and spice for its overall flavour profile, as opposed to just the use of bitters or vermouth.

By adding crème de cassis to the standard Whisky Sour cocktail structure, the Bourbon Renewal cocktail gives it a modern twist. The addition of blackcurrant provides a hint of both sweetness and tartness, while the addition of lemon gives an acidic base that prevents this drink from becoming too sweet. This creates a fruitier bourbon cocktail with more nuanced flavours than you would expect for a traditional sour cocktail.

Why These Bourbon Cocktails Stand Out

Here are some reasons why these bourbon cocktails are so unique:

• Unlike the Old Fashioned cocktail, each of these drinks has an elaborate combination of flavours.

• The use of various flavours such as citrus fruits, coffee products, grapefruit juices, and amaros creates distinctive flavour profiles that can be found throughout the world.

• Additionally, every cocktail highlights a different aspect of bourbon by showcasing the characteristics of bourbon's vanilla, caramel, oak, and spicy attributes.

Conclusion

The Old Fashioned cocktail has had a lasting effect on cocktails globally. However, it is just one part of the greater whole of bourbon cocktails. Bourbon drinks like the Boulevardier cocktail, Brown Derby cocktail, Gold Rush cocktail, and Paper Plane cocktail showcase different flavour combinations created by combining bourbon with bitters, citrus, sweet, and fruity flavours. Even today, these bourbon cocktails are still influencing today’s cocktail culture through both classic recipes and newer creations.

*Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.