Well, the first week of 2021 is officially in the books. If you’re doing Dry January, we commend you. A week is a long time. So long, in fact, that it kinda seems like you deserve a treat. Maybe a cocktail? That feels right.
Some of our go-to whiskey cocktails featuring two of our very favorites—Jim Beam and Basil Hayden’s—to celebrate your impressive dry-week accomplishment:
Rye Old Fashioned
3 dashes Angostura® Bitters
2 oz. Jim Beam® Rye Whiskey
2 sugar cubes
Soda water
½ orange wedge
1 cherry
Muddle cherry, orange, bitters, and sugar cubes in an old fashioned glass. Fill the glass with ice cubes, add whiskey, and top with soda water. Garnish with fruit.
Manhattan
3 dashes Angostura® Bitters
2.5 oz. Jim Beam Black® Bourbon
0.75 oz. sweet vermouth
Cherry
Combine bitters, whiskey, and vermouth in a shaker filled with ice. Shake, shake, shake, and then strain into a chilled martini glass. Add the cherry for your garnish.
Highball
1.5 oz. Jim Beam Black® Bourbon
6 oz. soda water
Orange peel garnish
Fill a highball glass with ice. Combine whiskey and soda water in glass, and stir. Garnish with your orange peel.
Beam Tonic
1.5 oz. Jim Beam Black® Bourbon
4.5 oz. tonic water
Lemon wedge garnish
Fill a glass with ice and combine whiskey and tonic water. Give it a good stir, then garnish with a lemon wedge.
Classic Mint Julep
2 oz. Basil Hayden’s® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
.5 oz. simple syrup
Fresh mint leaves
Combine mint and simple syrup in a rocks glass and gently muddle. Add crushed ice, and pour in whiskey. Stir, then garnish with an additional mint sprig.
Boulevardier
2 oz. Basil Hayden’s® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
1.5 oz. Aperol
1.5 oz. sweet vermouth
Orange peel twist
Combine whiskey, aperol, and sweet vermouth in a mixing glass with ice. Stir, stir, stir. Strain into a glass and serve up (a giant ice cube is a nice touch, if you have them). Garnish with an orange twist.
Whiskey Sour
2 oz. Basil Hayden’s® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
1.5 oz. simple syrup
1.5 oz. lemon juice
Lemon slice
Fill cocktail shaker with ice and combine all ingredients. Shake away. Strain into a glass and garnish with lemon.
Bourbon Sidecar
1.5 oz. Basil Hayden’s® Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
1 oz. orange liqueur
.5 oz. lemon juice
Lemon twist
Fill cocktail shaker with ice and add whiskey, orange liqueur, and lemon juice. Shake it up and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a lil’ lemon twist.
