Icy cold, strawberry orange summer bourbon cocktails! A refreshing summer whiskey cocktail that is perfect for hot spring or summer nights.
Holy sunburn! We are DEEEEEEEP into summer, folks!
There’s a heatwave hitting us like a ton o bricks right now in the Inland Northwest. This Seattle native is basically just hiding in the itty bitty corners of shade to try to stay cool and keep that fair skin from frying.
One awesome perk of summer? SUMMER COCKTAILS GALORE! It’s a time of outdoor cookouts (with cocktails), family gatherings (with cocktails), lake days (with cocktails), sprinkler sessions (ahem….. with cocktails). You get where I’m going with this, right? How many of you are dreaming of a strawberry grapefruit mojito or a frozen pina colada right now?
Bourbon though….. I always enjoy it more in the winter. It just seems like a cozy, under a blanket spirit to me. Am I crazy? (Don’t answer that. ?)
So, I gave my favorite booze (bourbon) a summer make-over. With strawberries. And orange. And ice. I’m very creatively calling them summer bourbon cocktails. HUZZAH!
The strawberries give it that sweetness of summer, while the orange gives it that brightness it needs, and ice makes it, well, cold for those hot days. ?
All you do is muddle strawberry and orange together in a shaker. Fill with bourbon and ice. Shake shake shake senora. Then pour in a glass with ice. That’s it, friends.
Notes about this summer bourbon cocktail:
- There’s a lot of pulp going on, which is why I shake and strain. It can be hard to pour out of the shaker though. Feel free to muddle in your glass and make it a smash to get all that fruitiness and booziness in your glass.
- There’s a lot of booze for just 2 cocktails, because it gets soaked up by the pulp. To get all that awesome booze, press the muddled fruit in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl.
- Give it a savory note with some herbs! Mint or basil work very well with strawberry.
- You technically don’t need ice, as it’s already cold. The ice does keep the cocktail even colder while you are drinking, but it also waters it down a bit. You do you, ice or no ice. 🙂
- Add sparkling water for an even more refreshing cocktail!
- Make it a summery old fashioned by adding a bit of sugar and bitters to the fruit before muddling.
Strawberry orange summer bourbon cocktail recipe! A light and refreshing cocktail made with bourbon, rye, or whiskey that is perfect for spring or summer nights.
- 6 medium fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 2 1/2" thick circular slices of orange, rind removed and cut into bit sized pieces
- 8 oz bourbon, rye, or whiskey
- ice for shaker and for serving
- strawberry and orange slice for garnish (optional)
In a large cocktail shaker, muddle the strawberry and orange. Add the bourbon to the shaker and fill with ice. With the lid on the shaker, shake until the outside of the shaker is frosty cold.
Fill 2 low ball glasses with ice (optional) and pour the mixture evenly into the glasses. Garnish with a strawberry and an orange slice (optional).
The mixture is quite pulpy inside the shaker, which can make it hard to pour. Pour as much as you can, and clear the pulp if the shaker starts to clog by shaking again.
There will be quite a lot of booze left in the shaker with the pulp. You can get this by placing the pulp in a fine mesh sieve and pressing the pulp with the back of a spoon with a bowl under the sieve to catch the liquid.
More summer bourbon cocktail ideas!
Blackberry lemon old fashioned
Apricot and honey bourbon sour
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Stay cool, friends! 
Trish
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Jerod Togger
I added 8 dashes angostura bitters 4 bar spoons simple syrup and 4 leafs sweet mint to the glass. Cut the bourbon down in half and use quality bourbon and a high proof