Best Georgia Peach Bourbon Smash Cocktail Recipe

The Georgia peach drink recipe is the perfect hot summer day cocktail recipe. It’s fruity, refreshing with a slightly spicy side to it. This cocktail combines fresh peaches, fresh mint, some ginger beer, and bourbon into a great cocktail. Throw in a few ice cubes and you have an excellent summery drink. This perfect drink is best made at the height of the peach season.

What Are Smashes?

That is easy to answer. Smashes are cocktails made with ingredients that get smashed or muddled. Think mint leaves in a Julip or a Mojito. In this case, you are muddling peach slices and a mint sprig. You do this to release the flavors and juices from the fresh fruit into the drink.

Key Ingredients

• Bourbon – which is a distinctly American whiskey. It’s called bourbon if it meets specific guidelines; its mash must contain at least 51 percent corn, distilled at 160 proof or less, and stored in charred new oak barrels at 125 proof or less.
• Slices of Peaches – you need about 1/2 of a large peach cut into pieces. The fruit is the source of the peachy flavor in the drink, so it’s essential to have ripe summer peaches.
• Mint Leaves – it takes about 4-5 leaves plus some for garnishing
• Simple Syrup – this calls for a brown sugar simple syrup, giving it a warmer flavor. But you could use white sugar, maple syrup, or honey-based simple syrup.
• Ginger Beer – which is not the same as ginger ale. It has a much stronger flavor and brings spicy notes to the drink. Don’t try to substitute ginger ale; it will make the drink too sweet.

Choosing the Right Bourbon

There are so many bourbons on the market, so which one is best for this drink? Choosing one can be confusing if you are still getting familiar with bourbon. I would stick to a moderately priced bottle in the $35 to $45 range for a mixed drink like this. You’re mixing the drink, so you want to use something other than a high-end bourbon meant to be enjoyed straight. I’m using Elijah Craig’s small batch, but I have also used a Marker’s Mark as well as a Woodford. Bourbon is used in a lot of classic cocktails.

Making the Simple Syrup

You can buy premade simple syrup, but it’s easy to make. Heck, the word simple is in the name. All you do is a 1:1 ratio of sugar (in this case, brown sugar) and water. Put the mixture on the stove, heat until the sugar is fully dissolved, and allow to cool. It’s that easy.

Tools

Ideally, you will make this in a cocktail shaker with a strainer, using a muddler and rocks glass, DOF glass (double old-fashioned), or highball glass. Don’t have a muddler; you can use the back of a spoon. Refrain from over-muddling the ingredients, it’s harder to strain, and over-muddled mint can be bitter.

Serving

Serve this delicious drink over plenty of ice, either cubes or crushed. It’s a drink meant to be served cold. And top with your ginger beer, don’t mix it all in the shaker (you will have a mess). And by all means, garnish, that’s what makes a cocktail special. The visual effect of a well-garnished cocktail is unbeatable.

Make It A Happy Hour

Check out the new Best Homemade Fresh Summer Peach Salsa Recipe post and make it a happy hour!! Plus, some other bourbon drinks, such as Revolver Bourbon Cocktail Recipe or Maple Bourbon Manhattan Cocktail Recipe.