Build a Better: Bourbon cocktail

If you missed National Bourbon Day on June 14, don’t despair. You’ve got the rest of September to celebrate National Bourbon Heritage Month, dedicated to this American-born spirit.  Kentucky produces 95 percent of the world’s bourbon supply, and in 2007 Congress designated September as National Bourbon Heritage Month. How you want to celebrate is up to you, but consider these inspirations.

The St. Regis Atlanta is celebrating with beverage manager David Mason’s Peaches & Bourbon cocktail recipe. The drink is flavored with fresh-squeezed lemonade and local Georgia peach cider.

The InterContinental Los Angeles has partnered with Angel’s Envy bourbon to create its own exclusive bourbon blend offered in September. The custom blend is available in the hotel’s Lobby Lounge, and executive chef Jonathan Wood has designed a menu of bourbon-paired bites such as bourbon-glazed crawfish with dirty rice. Guests can also purchase a bottle of the limited edition InterContinental Los Angeles blend for $65.

Other inspirations for National Bourbon Heritage Month include signature spins on the Old Fashioned. At South Water Kitchen located in Hotel Monaco in Chicago, Brent Poole has created the Lover’s Carved Heart ($12). The cocktail is made with bourbon and house-made birch bark syrup, Averna liqueur and black walnut bitters. Brian Gastaldi at The Commoner in Pittsburg features a Toasted Coconut Old Fashioned with Heaven Hill Bourbon, water, toasted and sweetened raw coconut, Peychard’s Bitters and a lemon twist garnish. Brandon Lockman at Red Star Tavern in Portland, OR, offers the Port Old Fashioned ($12)—a combination of Bulleit Bourbon, tawny port, maple syrup and Angostura bitters.  Sable Kitchen & Bar in Chicago features John Stanton’s Lifter Puller cocktail, incorporating Woodford Reserve bourbon, Averna, Carpano Antica sweet vermouth, Gran Classico Bitter and orange bitters.

The flavors of bourbon also will make a year-round beverage menu splash at the newly opened Succotash in Oxon Hill, MD. Culinary director Chef Edward Lee’s Southern-inspired cuisine is complemented by a wide selection of bourbons—more than 60— and a variety of bourbon-based cocktails.  Among the specialty Original Cocktails are the “Hey Peaches” ($11) with vanilla-infused Old Forester bourbon, peach tea, apricot and lemon and the frozen Kentucky Winter ($11) with frozen Jim Beam bourbon, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon and almond.

This winter, Butter Midtown in NYC will be offering a hearty bourbon cocktail, The Tall, Dark & Handsome, combining the flavors of Woodford Reserve bourbon dashed with chocolate bitters, stirred with Carpano Antica, and finished with a stout float.