Classic Bourbon Cocktails: Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Boulevardier and More

Classic BourbonCocktails

The essential bourbon cocktails are the Old Fashioned, the Manhattan, the Boulevardier, the Whiskey Sour and, among newer drinks, the Paper Plane. Each uses a measured pour of about 1 to 1.75 oz of whiskey, and the bourbon you pick (spicy and rye-forward, soft and wheated, or cask finished) changes the drink as much as any other ingredient.

Specs below follow the International Bartenders Association (IBA), with approximate US measures. Use a jigger.

All bourbon starts with at least 51% corn, but the rest of the grain recipe (the mash bill) shifts the flavor.

• Rye-forward or high rye bourbon uses a larger share of rye as its secondary grain. Expect more pepper, clove and dry spice. It holds its own against vermouth and bitters, which is why it is the traditional choice for a Manhattan. See high-rye bourbon.
• Wheated bourbon swaps rye for wheat as the secondary grain. It tends to be softer and rounder, with more caramel and bread. It makes a gentle, smooth Old Fashioned but can get lost next to Campari.
• Finished bourbon spends extra time in a second cask that previously held something else, such as sherry, stout or tequila. These add fruit, roast or agave notes that can stand in for, or complement, a modifier in the glass. See cask-finished whiskey.

Proof matters too. A bourbon around 45% ABV keeps its character after dilution from ice, while a 40% bourbon can taste thin in a stirred drink.

The original whiskey cocktail: spirit, sugar, bitters, water.

• 1.5 oz (45 ml) bourbon or rye whiskey
• 1 sugar cube (or about 1 tsp simple syrup)
• 2 to 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• A few dashes of plain water

Soak the sugar cube with bitters in an old fashioned glass, add a little water and muddle until the sugar dissolves. Add ice and the whiskey, then stir gently. Garnish with an orange slice or orange zest and a cocktail cherry.

Bourbon choice: nearly anything works. A wheated bourbon gives a soft, sweet drink; a high rye bourbon gives a spicier, drier one.

Whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters, stirred and served up.

• 1.75 oz (50 ml) whiskey
• 0.75 oz (20 ml) sweet red vermouth
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Stir with ice in a mixing glass until well chilled, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.

The IBA spec calls for rye whiskey, and plenty of bartenders use bourbon, especially high rye bourbon, which keeps the spice while adding a little more sweetness. Refrigerate vermouth once opened.

A bourbon cousin of the Negroni. It was first recorded in print in 1927 in Harry MacElhone's Barflies and Cocktails, credited to Erskine Gwynne, an American writer in Paris who published a magazine called Le Boulevardier. The original called for equal parts Campari, Italian vermouth and bourbon.

Modern spec, slightly heavier on whiskey:

• 1.5 oz (45 ml) bourbon or rye whiskey
• 1 oz (30 ml) Campari
• 1 oz (30 ml) sweet red vermouth

Stir with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass (or over a large cube in a rocks glass), and garnish with orange zest.

Bourbon choice: Campari is assertive, so a bourbon with some proof and spice keeps the drink balanced. A stout or sherry cask finish adds depth alongside the bitter orange.

Whiskey, lemon and sugar, shaken. Egg white is optional and gives a silky foam.

• 1.5 oz (45 ml) bourbon
• About 0.75 oz (25 ml) fresh lemon juice
• About 0.75 oz (20 ml) simple syrup
• A few drops of egg white (optional)

Shake hard with ice (harder still with egg white) and strain into a coupe or cobbler glass, or over fresh ice in an old fashioned glass. Garnish with half an orange slice and a cherry.

Bourbon choice: fresh citrus flatters fruit-forward bourbons. A sherry cask finish, with its dried fruit and apricot notes, is a natural fit. Use fresh lemon juice.

An IBA "New Era" cocktail in equal parts:

• 1 oz (30 ml) bourbon
• 1 oz (30 ml) Amaro Nonino
• 1 oz (30 ml) Aperol
• 1 oz (30 ml) fresh lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. No garnish needed.

Bourbon choice: with bitter and citrus elements this strong, a bourbon at around 45% ABV keeps the whiskey from disappearing. A light, easygoing finished bourbon also works well here.

• Stir for about 20 to 30 seconds with plenty of ice for stirred drinks. You want them cold and slightly diluted, not watery.
• Shake hard for about 10 to 15 seconds for citrus drinks. Shaking chills, dilutes and aerates.
• Use good ice. Large, dense cubes melt slowly.
• Measure. Free pouring throws off balance and makes drinks stronger than intended. One cocktail with 1.5 oz of 40% ABV whiskey is about one US standard drink; cocktails with more whiskey, or higher proof whiskey, contain more.

Want to understand the spirit first? Start with what is bourbon and how to taste whiskey.

Three bourbons bottled by Lonerider Spirits are built with cocktails in mind. Sherry Cask Finish, a high rye bourbon whiskey finished in sherry casks at 90 proof, is good in Manhattans and citrus cocktails like the Whiskey Sour. Deadwood Cask Finish, a straight bourbon whiskey finished in stout casks at 90 proof, is robust and suits a stirred drink such as a Boulevardier. Tequila Cask Finish, a straight bourbon whiskey finished in tequila casks at 90 proof, is light and easy and works in cocktails that call for an anejo tequila.