Apricot and Mint Bourbon Smash

This Bourbon Mint Smash is sure to be your go-to summertime drink! Bourbon plays a major role in this cocktail by lending it’s sweet and spicy flavors to make the base for this cocktail. Fragrant and pleasing mint is muddled into the bourbon cocktail to add that fresh summertime vibe to the drink. The drink is also garnished with mint on top, to ensure that invigorating mint aroma is enjoyed with every sip. Fizzy soda water is added to jazz this Apricot and Mint Bourbon cocktail up. And of course apricot juice plays a pivotal role in this Bourbon Mint Smash Cocktail, as the perfect compliment to the sweet spicy flavors of the bourbon. Perfectly refreshing for any summer day!

What is a Smash?

‘Smash’ – what an interesting term for a cocktail, right? With such a fun name, you’d expect this type of cocktail to have been created in relatively modern times. But the term ‘smash’ actually dates back as far as 1862, where it was found in Jerry Thomas’ book How to Mix Drinks. Being over a century old, this cocktail has taken on every variation imaginable, but to get down to the very basics of it, a smash is basically a less strict Julep. The bare-bones of a smash are essentially a spirit, water, mint, sugar, and some sort of seasonal fruit, all served over ice. In my version of a smash, I used bourbon as my spirit, soda water, mint, and then combined the sugar and the fruit by using apricot nectar!

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What is Apricot Nectar?

apricot nectar is basically apricot juice that has been concentrated down by removing the water from the apricot juice. Nectar is more concentrated in flavor than juice, and as such is sweeter too. It’s color is typically darker and more opaque than your typical juice as well. You should be able to find apricot nectar in your regular grocery store, but if you aren’t able to track it down, you can substitute it with apricot juice. However, as it is less sweet and less flavorful, you will want to cut back on the amount of soda water you use, to ensure the bourbon cocktail remains sweet and filled with that apricot flavor.

The Bourbon

As mentioned in the title, the spirit used in this cocktail is bourbon. If you cannot tell by now, I really quite fancy bourbon, adding it to anything and everything that will take it, such as my Browned Butter Bourbon Banana Bread or my Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches.

Bourbon is an American Whiskey that, by law, needs to be aged in charred oak containers for at least 2 years. Bourbon’s flavor profile is distinctively sweet, which is why I love adding it to certain recipes, as a way to amp up that sweet quality. However, bourbon is so much more than just sweet. Due to the aging process, bourbon also develops a beautiful smoky flavor, owing clearly to those charred barrels. As well, bourbon also has a pronounced, but smooth, vanilla flavor, which also comes from the oak barrels it is aged in. Many bourbons also have a spicy characteristic to them, which comes from a high rye content. This high rye content produces a bold, distinct, and spicy taste.

My personal favorite Bourbon is Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon. This bourbon is deeply sweet, with subtle floral and fruity aromatic notes. It also has that great spicy bite to it as well, without overpowering the other flavors.

Substitutions for Bourbon

• Tennessee Whiskey is a great substitute, as it also has that sweet-smoky quality.
• Canadian Whiskey will work just fine, however you will be missing that smoky aspect, as Canadian whiskey is more pure and smooth in flavor. If you find bourbon to be too overwhelming, Canadian Whiskey will actually be a great alternative for you.
• Rye could work as well, as it also has that spicy bite that bourbon has.