It is a peachy kinda day here celebrating Liam’s award-winning cornbread recipe, so we decided to stay with the theme and make a peach based cocktail. Plus, I noticed that I’ve been tending toward things in coupes and tall glasses, so I’m angling back toward whiskey and rocks glasses with lots of fancy cubes. I still wanted to shake the drink and I’m on a big chunks of fruit and mint getting pulverized by ice kick, so I opted for the classic Peach Bourbon Smash. 

I had one of these a few years ago, somewhere in central Kentucky, fancy little gastropub, don’t recall the name. I do recall that they had a bunch of fresh peaches that needed to be used so the bartender was pitching these hard as a “Georgia-style julep”, they aren’t really a julep, but they are refreshing and on theme. So grab your tins and pop in about half a peach, sliced, pitted, skinned etc., 4-5 mint leaves and 1/2 ounce of simple syrup. Muddle that a bit, not too much or the mint will get bitter. Add 2 ounces of bourbon, I used Michter’s, 2-3 stabs of Regan’s orange bitters and shake with ice. I shake this one pretty hard, cause I like violent shakes and you want to beat those peach pieces up to incorporate them. Double strain over ice into a rocks glass and top with ginger ale. Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve.

This is one of those weird ones where I loved the first sip, nice and sweet but with balance from the mint. As the drink progresses my fondness for it dissipates. Maybe it is dilution, but I think it’s just lack of interest. Not a lot of levels going on here. It’s sweet peach, balanced by the mint with the bourbon just kinda hanging out underneath. Maybe it would be better with a rye, maybe I shouldn’t try so hard to be on theme. Especially since I’m not a huge fan of peaches. I mean they’re lovely and all, it’s just that once we get past the initial attraction I don’t feel like we have enough in common to build a relationship. Too much sweetness without bitterness to ground it. Maybe Kevin Smith was right, you gotta have the bitter with the sweet. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.