The Whiskey Smash

Summertime Bourbon Never Tasted So Good

This summer, my wife planted a small garden in the raised flower bed that came with our house. While tiny, we are currently drowning in cucumbers. Now I know why people with gardens are always trying to give you cucumbers. They’re an unstoppable force of nature. They are the bamboo of salad ingredients. They are the reason pickles exist.

They also have nothing to do with a Whiskey Smash, unless you include the fact that I’m constantly having to redirect the cucumber vines away from the garden ingredient that does: mint.

Mint is also a fairly unstoppable plant, too, though I once killed a mint plant. My mom is a master gardener. I am capable of defeating an unbeatable herb.

In any case, when you’ve got cucumbers threatening a hostile takeover of your yard, that means you’ve got to get outside in the brutal heat and pick them. It also means, that once you’re done, however temporary the stalemate may be, you’re going to need something to cool you off. Grab that last cucumber, for the moment, and about eight mint leaves and head inside. Get your Elevated Craft shaker, a bottle of bourbon, something with which to muddle, some ice, a lemon, and some sugar.

From there, cut the lemon in half and then cut one of the halves into thirds. Throw those in the bottom of your shaker with about 3/4-1 Tbl. of sugar, depending on how sweet you want it. Do most Whiskey Smash recipes call for simple syrup? Yes, but I am currently on strike against simple syrup, mainly because I don’t use it very often and get tired of making it just to pour it out. Never fear, though, because this technique won’t leave you with a gritty drink.

Muddle the sugar and lemons until you get all the juice out and most of the sugar dissolved. The grit of the sugar will pull additional oils from the lemon rinds, enhancing the flavor of your drink. Then add your mint and muddle again, releasing the oils from the leaves. Then add your bourbon and dry shake, that is without ice. By not cooling it just yet, you’ll give the remaining sugar a chance to dissolve into the bourbon and lemon juice.

Add your ice and give it a good shake, about thirty seconds, and then double strain into a glass filled with pebbled ice. If you don’t want to get out the blender but have a bag of ice you didn’t end up using for your last party, that works, too. If you don’t want to double strain, it’s your cocktail, but it will have bits of lemon and mint floating in it.

Finally, garnish with a mint sprig, sit down on your deck, and enjoy a refreshing beverage of an adult nature while staring menacingly at your cucumbers in an attempt to remind them who’s the boss. Repeat as necessary.