15 Best Bourbon Cocktails To Make At Home (2023 Updated)

Last Updated on August 22, 2023 by Lydia Martin

Making bourbon cocktails at home is pretty simple. All you need is a bottle of your favorite bourbon and a few additional ingredients you can easily find at the nearest grocery store.

Here’s our list of the best bourbon cocktails to make at home. Enjoy.

Top 15 Bourbon Cocktails You Can Easily Make At Home 

15. Bourbon Smash

A classic Bourbon Smash is made with bourbon and smashed citrus fruit like lemon and herbs.

Smash and muddle the fruit and mint herbs in a glass to release its scent and flavor.

Shake the bourbon and simple syrup together with ice and the muddled fruit in a cocktail shaker.

14. Boulevardier

Boulevardier is a stunning three-ingredient cocktail that calls for a good bourbon whiskey, Campari, and sweet vermouth.

No shaking is required; stir all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.

Strain and serve it into a lowball or old-fashioned glass with an orange twist. Here are the best bourbons for Boulevardier.

13. Whiskey Sour

Whiskey Sour, also known as Bourbon Sour, is one of the oldest cocktails that are easy to make.

To make this cocktail, you need bourbon whiskey, lemon, sugar, or simple syrup.

Traditionally, it has egg whites in its recipe that add a richer foamy texture. Check out the best bourbons for Whiskey Sour here.

12. Paper Plane

Paper Plane is a must-try modern classic cocktail. It has four ingredients you can find easily: bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice.

These iced-shaken ingredients make a bright, tangy, bittersweet cocktail perfect for a dinner party or night drink. 

We’ve got the top bourbons for Paper Plane here.

11. Maloney No. 2

Maloney No. 2 is a lowball glass cocktail that uses bonded bourbon in its original recipe. But you can also opt to use a classic bourbon along with sweet vermouth, Cynar, and maraschino liqueur. 

Stir all the combined ingredients in a mixing glass, strain it into a chilled rocks glass, and top it with an orange peel. 

10. Side Car With Bourbon

The Side Car with Bourbon cocktail, also called the Bourbon Sidecar, is part of the sour cocktails. This cocktail is made with bourbon, lemon juice, and triple sec or Cointreau.

Shake all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain in a chilled cocktail glass with a sugar rim. 

9. Brown Derby

This simple bourbon cocktail features a refreshing blend of bourbon, honey syrup, and grapefruit juice. You must mix equal parts of honey and hot water for the honey syrup. 

Shake all the ingredients into a shaker with ice and fine strain in a cocktail glass. Before serving, you can pinch a grapefruit twist over the cocktail to add a twist to the drink.

Read: Top Honey Bourbon Brands

8. Kentucky Mule

Kentucky Mule is a bourbon twist on the classic Moscow Mule cocktail. It’s a bubbly and bold drink made with bourbon whiskey, lime juice, and ginger beer. 

You don’t need a shaker in this cocktail; dump all the ingredients into the glass with ice and stir it.

For a traditional Kentucky Mule experience, serve it in a copper mule mug topped with a lime wedge.

Read: Popular Bourbons For Kentucky Mule

7. Gold Rush

Gold Rush is likely similar to a Whiskey Sour cocktail recipe without the egg whites. Instead of sugar or simple syrup, the Gold Rush recipe uses honey syrup along with bourbon and fresh lemon juice. 

The bourbon-honey and lemon combination makes a bright and tasty cocktail. It is usually strained and served in a rocks glass over a large ice cube.

6. Bourbon Ginger Ale & Lemon

This Bourbon Ginger Ale & Lemon cocktail is also called Ginger Bourbon Fizz. It’s made of ginger ale, lemon, and bourbon. 

However, you can substitute ginger ale with ginger, simple syrup, and club soda. This ginger and lemon mix cuts the strong bourbon and makes a delicious, fizzy cocktail.

5. De La Louisiane

De La Louisiane cocktail is a rye-based cocktail with a deep bittersweet flavor. Its recipe has rye bourbon, sweet vermouth, and Benedictine with dashes of absinthe and some Peychaud’s bitters.

Stir all the ingredients in a chilled coupe and top with a skewered maraschino cherry.

Read: Our Recommended Bourbon Cherries

4. Old Fashioned

Old Fashioned is one of the famous and timeless cocktails lightly sweetened with bitters.

This cocktail has an official recipe for bourbon, sugars, and Angostura bitters. 

It’s also one of the easiest great cocktails, and you need to muddle the sugar with the biters in water and add the bourbon.

Serve in a rocks glass with an orange twist on top. Here are our favorite bourbons for Old-Fashioned.

3. Mint Julep

A classic Mint Julep is an iconic bourbon cocktail that is considered the traditional bourbon drink of the Kentucky Derby. [1] It’s made with muddled mint leaves in simple syrup, then add the bourbon. 

It is traditionally served in a Julep cup, but you can use a rocks glass as a substitute.

Top it with more crushed ice by forming a dome and garnish with mint sprig. Check out these bourbons for your Mint Julep.

2. Regal Gold Rush

A Regal Gold Rush is technically a Gold Rush cocktail with a grapefruit peel. After mixing bourbon, lemon juice, and honey syrup, it’s time for the Regal Shake.

Instead of putting a grapefruit twist on top, it is shaken along with the other ingredients in a cocktail shaker.

1. Ward Eight 

Ward Eight resembles the classic Whiskey Sour but with a hint of sweetness from grenadine. In making this concoction, you need lemon and orange juice, with grenadine and bourbon. 

All the ingredients are iced-shaken and strained into a cocktail glass filled with ice. You can top it with an orange slice and maraschino cherry.

FAQs 

What mixes best with bourbon?

Citrus fruit juices like lemon, lime, and grapefruit can be the best mix with bourbon. The sourness from the citrus juices could complement well with the robust, oaky notes of the bourbon.

What’s the best fruity bourbon cocktail?

Ward Eight is the best fruity bourbon cocktail because of its mixed fruit juices. It has a balanced sweetness and tanginess from the citrus juices that cut off the spiciness of rye bourbon. 

Final Thoughts

You can impress your friends or loved ones with these simple bourbon cocktails. If you’re into sour cocktails, you can try the classic Whiskey Sour, Bourbon Sidecar, and the versions of Gold Rush.

But if you want a bubbly one, go for Ginger Bourbon Fizz and Kentucky Mule.

You’ll be surprised at how your simple ingredients at home could easily turn into a tasty and refreshing bourbon cocktail.

References: 

1. https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/food/story/mint-julep-iconic-kentucky-derby-cocktail-official-recipe-62700367