Bourbon blackberry smash? Yes, please!

Hello fellow cocktail enthusiasts! It is officially the weekend and have I got a cocktail for you! I purchased the most delicious blackberries at the grocery store the other day and while we have certainly been eating them by the handful, I knew I had to make some sort of delicious cocktail with them as well.

I started with a blackberry mule. Easy peasy. You can find the recipe on my Instagram page here. Yesterday it was rainy and chilly here in New Jersey and I wanted something that would warm me up a bit more than a mule. Bourbon. Bourbon always warms me up and I have grown to like it quite a bit. I decided a Bourbon blackberry smash was going to be the answer to what ailed me.

A smash cocktail at its core is a combination of spirit, mint, sugar and fruit. I found an interesting article on the smash cocktail and its history at Imbibe Magazine. I'm a bit of a nerd and love reading how cocktails came to be. I can just picture some dapper chap behind a beautiful mahogany bar in a dimly lit, small speakeasy type of place, mixing, shaking and pouring until he got it just right.

Here are a few tools that while they will be helpful in making this drink, are not absolutely necessary.

Bartending tools

A mason jar with a lid can double as your cocktail shaker. A muddler can be replaced with the handle of a wooden spoon, any tall spoon for stirring will work. A jigger can be switched out for a good old fashioned glass measuring cup. I would recommend you use some sort of fine mesh strainer for this drink, however, because of the blackberry seeds. Any kind you may have can be used.

Next up: ingredients. You will need the Bourbon of your choice. I used High West Whiskey American Prairie Bourbon from Park City, Utah. J. went there recently to ski-while I am bummed I didn't get to go on that trip, I am super glad he brought me back this Bourbon! It is fantastic!

Fresh blackberries, fresh mint, along with simple syrup (cook equal parts water and sugar over heat until sugar melts) and a lemon will round out the ingredients needed to make this delicious concoction.

Method: Place 4-5 blackberries in your shaker or mason jar along with 1/2 a lemon cut in quarters. Pour 1/2 an ounce of simple syrup into shaker. Place 5-7 mint leaves in there to boot. Muddle gently with muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon until juices are released. Pour in 2 ounces of bourbon and then a handful of ice. Stir with a long handled spoon vigorously until your drink is very cold. Place more ice into an old fashioned glass and strain (I doubled strained mine because of the blackberry seeds) over ice and into your glass.

• 2 ounces Bourbon

• 1/2 a lemon, quartered

• 4-5 blackberries

• 5-7 fresh mint leaves

• .5 ounce simple syrup (more or less depending on how tart or sweet your blackberries are)

Garnish as desired. Enjoy.

Cheers!