The Story Behind The Bourbon Peach Punch

Today I’m publishing a cocktail that was inspired by my recent trip to Kentucky, where I learned even more about the spirit that first got me hooked on making cocktails: bourbon. I may hail from North Carolina but until recently I had never made the trip to explore the Bourbon Trail. It was quite a memorable experience, though there is truly such a thing as having too much straight bourbon!

While on the trip I created this refreshing and easy-to-drink cocktail to cool myself down after a long day of tasting bourbon in the heat. I decided to use some delicious local peaches in a few different ways: turning slices into peach ice cubes, and as a primary ingredient muddled into the drink. In addition, I added fresh pineapple juice to lengthen the cocktail. The muddled peaches and pineapple gave it so much delicious flavor that it was necessary to balance the sweetness with a bit of lemon juice. To top everything off (literally) garnish this drink with a bit of fresh cracked pepper to bring back some of the bourbon spice that is drowned out by the sweeter fruit. The results are refreshing perfection.

Thanks to my trip I’m now a a firm believer that bourbon is best served neat or over ice, but this cocktail is designed for those whose palates have taken a beating or for someone who’s spent a day in the hot sun and simply needs to relax and refresh.

Ingredients

1.5 ounces bourbon
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce lemon juice
1 peach sliced into 8 slices
black pepper to garnish

Directions

Make peach ice cubes by adding 1 sliced peach into each cavity of an ice cube tray that makes 6 large cubes.
Fill with water and place in freezer.
After ice cubes are hard, muddle two peach slices in the bottom of a shaker.
Add bourbon, lemon juice and ice and shake to mix and chill.
Place one peach ice cube in a tumbler glass and strain contents of shaker over it.
Top with an ounce of pineapple juice and fresh-cracked black pepper.