This Bourbon Peach Smash is the best light and fruity cocktail to enjoy all year round. It’s sweet, spicy, and a refreshing way to use up those ripe peaches. Have this cocktail ready to sip in just minutes!
Jump to:
📋 About the Recipe
- 7 simple ingredients - Making cocktails at home doesn’t have to be complicated. This Bourbon Peach Smash is made with simple fruits and a few basic ingredients you likely already have on the bar cart.
- Cocktail for 1 - Although there is a time and place for a pitcher of drinks, sometimes it’s nice to make a single cocktail for yourself to relax. Feel free to double the ingredients or make a few for a small group! If you are looking for good cocktails for a crowd, try my Frozen Passion Fruit Margaritas, Blueberry Vodka Lemonade, or Red, White, and Blue Sangria.
- No bar tools required - As with all of my drinks, I’ve used no fancy bar tools to make this cocktail. Make a delicious peach smash at home with just a jar and a spoon.
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Lemon - Adding lemon wedges to the cocktail helps brighten up the entire drink and adds a lovely tartness that balances the sweetness in the peaches. By muddling the lemon wedges with the peach, you get all of those natural lemon oils into the cocktail for the most flavor.
- Mint leaves - Just like my Blackberry Bourbon Smash and Mango Mojito, I highly recommend fresh mint. It adds a freshness that cannot be mimicked with another ingredient. You can even add in the mint leaf stems for an additional boost of mint flavor.
- Peach - For best results, use very ripe peaches. The riper fruit, the more sugary it will be and the easier it will be to mash. If needed or preferred, you can use frozen then thawed peaches instead of fresh.
- Peach schnapps - Schnapps is an alcoholic beverage that is typically flavored with fruit syrups or artificial flavors, making it a concentrated spirit to add to mixed drinks or even enjoy on its own.
- Ginger beer - A non-alcoholic beverage used in several cocktails, including my Christmas Moscow Mule to add sweetness and a strong, spicy ginger flavor. My personal favorite brand is Bundaberg! Note: ginger beer and ginger ale are often confused, but are not the same beverage. Make sure to shop for a ginger beer.
⁉️ Substitutions & Alterations
- Bourbon substitutions - If you do not have any Bourbon on hand, try another type of Whiskey. Crown Royal makes a peach flavored whiskey that could be great to try here! Or, you can also substitute vodka or rum instead!
- Ginger beer substitution - Ginger beer can be strong and spicy for some. If it's not for you, try ginger ale instead - it will make it sweet and fizzy, but remove a lot of the bite you’ll get with ginger beer. Or, for a less sweet option, try sparkling water or club soda.
- Peach substitutes - Ripe nectarines or apricots will also work as a nice substitute here.
- Maple syrup substitute - 1 tablespoon of agave or simple syrup will also work well.
📓 Instructions
- Add ingredients into cocktail shaker. Add lemon wedges, mint leaves, and ripe peaches.
- Muddle the ingredients. Using a cocktail muddler, mash the ingredients together until mostly smashed, about 10 to 20 times.
- Add in liquids. Pour in the Kentucky bourbon, peach schnapps, maple syrup, and ice. Top with the lid of the shaker and make sure it is secure.
- Shake vigorously. This is going to combine all of the flavors and intensify the mint.
- Serve. Top the cocktail with ginger beer and garnish with additional fresh mint leaves and peach slices.
❄️ How to Store
To store: This Bourbon Peach Smash is best served immediately once poured over ice and topped with ginger beer.
If you’re making multiple peach smashes at one time and would like to prep ahead for a party, follow steps 1 through 3, but skip the ice. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, then pick up again with step 4.
Freezing this cocktail is not recommended.
🔍 FAQs
The process of muddling is simply lightly smashing the peaches to release their juices. This helps make the peach smash more flavorful. For easiest results, use super ripe, sweet peaches.
Bourbon is a type of whiskey. In order for a whiskey to be considered a Bourbon, it must meet the following criteria:
1. It must be made in the United States.
2. It must be aged in an oak barrel.
3. It must be 51% corn.
If you do not have a classic cocktail muddler, use the back of a wooden spatula instead!
💭 One More Tip
Try one of these other favorite ways to use Bourbon:
- Blackberry Bourbon Smash
- Cast Iron Bourbon Caramel Apple Crisp
- Easy Honey Bourbon Glazed Salmon Meatballs
- Bacon Bourbon Pecan Brie Bites with Strawberries
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Bourbon Peach Smash
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lemon wedges (⅓ of a lemon)
- 5 mint leaves plus extra for garnish
- ½ a ripe peach, roughly chopped plus extra for garnish
- 1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) kentucky bourbon
- ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) peach schnapps
- ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) pure maple syrup agave or simple syrup work too
- ginger beer
- crushed ice
Instructions
- Add lemon wedges, mint leaves, and peach to a cocktail shaker or glass.
- Muddle until mostly smashed, about 10 to 20 times.
- Pour in bourbon, peach schnapps, maple syrup, and ice. Top with the lid of the shaker and make sure it is secure.
- Shake vigorously to combine all the flavors.
- Strain into a glass filled with ice.
- Top with ginger beer. Garnish with additional fresh mint and peach slices.
Notes
- You can also use vodka or rum instead of bourbon.
- If you don't like ginger beer, you can top the drink with sparkling water or club soda instead. However, it won't have as strong of flavor.
- This recipe makes 1 drink. Adjust the amount of servings to make for more than 1 person.
Nutrition
Want more recipes like this delivered right to your inbox? Be sure to subscribe above and never miss a thing!
Leave a Reply