10 Simple Whiskey Cocktail Recipes to Make at Home

The famously witty writer W. C. Fields got it right when he said, 

“When life hands you lemons, make whisky sours.” 

Life isn’t always rosy but as long as there are good whiskey cocktails and great company, there is a silver lining. What could be better than delicious home-made whiskey cocktails to pour over ice and share for a great evening of chat in the garden as the sun goes down? After all, the passion that goes into the making of each one is what makes these moments so special.

Which whiskey?

We recommend using Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey with its “unique blend of rye, corn, and barley malt, along with special strains of yeast and pure Kentucky limestone filtered water.” 

Our 10 incredibly easy whiskey cocktails 

These 10 easy whiskey cocktails are a mix of classic whiskey cocktails and contemporary twists with a dash of fruitiness or spice depending on your taste. There’s no better way to enjoy your summer than with some sophisticated cocktails with whiskey, great company and somewhere scenic to watch the sun go down after a hot day.

1. Old Fashioned

Timeless and on-point, this is one for when an old friend calls and some style is in order. Pair its nuanced bitter orangey notes with charcuterie, blue cheese and a hearty meal with all the trimmings.

Ingredients

1. 2 tsp of your homemade sugar syrup 
2. Splash of water
3. 60ml Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey 
4. 1-2 dashes Angostura bitters 
5. XL ice cube or sphere 

soda water (optional)

Orange slice or maraschino cherry to garnish.

Add the sugar syrup , bitters and water in a tumbler and mix. Put the XL ice cube in the glass and stir in the whiskey. Add a splash of soda water and mix. 

2. Sweet Manhattan

Invented by Iain Marshall at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the mid-1870s, this deliciously sweet twist on the classic whiskey cocktail uses maraschino cherry syrup. Pair with Italian Pizzette, Pastasciutta, Grissini (breadsticks) and Po Boys Sandwiches. Infuse your simple syrup with maraschino cherries to get the full-bodied sweetness.

Ingredients

1. 50ml Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey
2. 25ml Vermouth Rosso 
3. 5ml maraschino cherry syrup  
4. 2 dashes Angostura bitters 

Stir the ingredients with ice in a mixing glass, then strain into a tumbler with our XL ice cube. Garnish with a cherry and serve.

3. Rusty nail

Although this cocktail originated at the 1937 British Industries Fair, it wasn’t a hit until the 1950s reintroduced by Club 21 in New York and adored by the iconic Rat Pack. Our Rusty nail uses Irish Whiskey & Honey Liqueur instead of Drambuie to give it a smooth richness.

Ingredients

1. 50 ml Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey
2. 1 tbsp The Whistler Irish Whiskey & Honey Liqueur

Twist of lemon peel.

Place your XL ice sphere in a tumbler and add the whiskey and whiskey liqueur and stir gently. Add the lemon twist to garnish.

4. Mint julep

From the Spanish Arabic, "julepe", and the Persian word گلاب (Golâb) meaning rosewater, the ‘Julep’ cocktail was a concoction first mentioned in 1770. Originally, English juleps were mildly alcoholic and medicinal with the addition of camphor before American counterparts later added mint to become the minty cocktail we love today.

Ingredients

1. 65 ml Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey
2. 10/12 mint leaves
3. 12.5ml 2 parts to 1 of your homemade sugar syrup 
4. Crushed ice 

Mint sprig to garnish

Shake the ingredients with ice and strain into a mint julep cup filled with crushed ice. Churn with a long-handled spoon and top with more crushed ice. 

5. Hot toddy

First heard of in the 17th Century, there are two disputed origins for this drink: India (from the Hindi, ‘Taddy’ meaning a drink with fermented palm sap, and Ireland (named after Doctor Robert Bentley Todd who recommended the hot. spiced alcoholic drink as a cold cure). Either way, the hot whiskey is a restorative winter classic that warms the cockles of your heart. Great on a skiing trip or when you need a quick and tasty warming up.

Ingredients 

1. 25ml Irish/ Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey
2. 100ml boiling water
3. 1 tsp honey 
4. half cinnamon stick 
5. 1 lemon, half juiced and half sliced 
6. 2 or 3  cloves 

If it’s a non heat proof glass, pre-heat the glass by putting a metal spoon in it and pouring in boiling water, after it's heated, throw out the water. You can also use a glass still hot from the dishwasher. Cut a slice of lemon and push the cloves into it.

Put a teaspoon of honey into the glass followed by a shot of Irish whiskey or Bulleit Bourbon, stir until smooth. Add the cinnamon and lemon with cloves, top up with boiling water and stir. Wrap the glass in a linen serviette and  leave to infuse for a minute, gently sip.

6.Boulevardier cocktail

This classic whiskey cocktail was invented by the writer Erskine Gwynne, founder of  Boulevardier magazine in Paris from 1927 to 1932. A twist on the Negroni, it replaces gin with whiskey.

Ingredients

1. 25ml Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey
2. 25ml sweet vermouth
3. 25ml Campari 
4. ice 

Orange twist, to garnish

Mix the  Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey, Campari and sweet vermouth in a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled.  Strain into a tumbler over our XL ice cube. 

7.Whiskey sour

First mentioned in the Wisconsin newspaper, Waukesha Plain Dealer, in 1870, Elliott Stubb apparently created the "whisky sour" in Iquique in 1872. 

This cocktail has most likely been imbibed for hundreds of years as the base alcohols gin and whiskey alongwith lemon were used as the cure for a common mariner's affliction at the time, scurvy.

Ingredients

1. 50ml Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey
2. 35ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
3. 12½ml 2:1 your homemade sugar syrup 
4. 2 dashes Angostura bitters 
5. ½ fresh egg white 

XL ice cube

Lemon spiral to garnish

Fill a shaker with ice, add Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey, lemon juice, sugar syrup, egg white and 3 dashes of Angostura bitters.

Shake and strain into a tumbler with an XL ice cube.

8.Godfather

Made popular in the 1970s when cocktails were sweeter and reputedly named after the screen character played Marlon Brando, this smooth, rich  cocktail is fiendishly easy to make with only two ingredients. This is a sophisticated after-dinner cocktail with hints of almond. 

Ingredients

1. 50 ml Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey
2. 25 ml Disaronno

Ice

XL ice cube

Orange spiral to garnish

Pour the whisky and amaretto into a mixing glass or jug and add ice, stir until the outside of the glass is chilled. Place your XL ice cube in a tumbler and strain into the glass. 

9. Penicillin cocktail

This contemporary cocktail, created by the Australian Sam Ross in the mid-2000s, at the legendary Milk & Honey bar, New York is a deliciously sweet and spicy riff on the Whiskey Sour. Ours is  made with a Bourbon twist rather than Scotch.

Ingredients

1. 59 ml Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey
2. 22ml  fresh lemon juice
3. 22ml honey/ginger syrup* 

Candied ginger to garnish

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain over our XL ice cube in a tumbler 

Float the bar spoon of Islay on top and garnish with candied ginger.

10. Winter whiskey sour

This deliciously rich and sweet citrus forward cocktail is a twist on the classic Sour with the addition of orange and sugar to taste. Although great in winter it can actually be enjoyed any time. 

Ingredients

1. crushed ice
2. 50ml Bulleit Bourbon Whiskey
3. 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4. tbsp fresh orange juice
5. ½ tbsp sugar syrup

2 slices of orange to garnish.

Brush the rim of your tumblers with honey and add our XL ice cube. Shake the whiskey with the lemon juice, orange juice and sugar syrup. 

Try our premium pre-mixed cocktails

If you are already exhausted just reading about how to make these cocktails, why not go to our menu and try our 6 premium premixed whiskey cocktails: Whiskey Sour, Boulevardier, Old Fashioned, Manhattan. Brown Gold and Kurayoshi Heritage. ready to tear, pour over ice and sip without having to bother with buying ingredients and all the preparation.

Cheers and remember to drink your whiskey cocktails responsibly!