CLASSIC COCKTAIL · 1800–1849
Whiskey Smash
A whiskey sour loosened with mint and lemon wedges, served over crushed ice.
1840sHistorical classicResearched
Smashes first emerged in America, particularly the South, in the 1840s and peaked in the 1850s. Jerry Thomas printed the Whiskey Smash in his 1862 Bar-Tender’s Guide, calling the Smash “simply a julep on a small plan”. The drink faded until Dale DeGroff revived it in 2005 for the opening of Bobby Flay’s Bar American in New York, using lemon, mint, syrup and bourbon.
THE RECIPEBright, minty and whiskey-forward
Ingredients
- Bourbon60 ml
- Simple syrup15 ml
- Lemon wedges4
- Mint leaves8
- Crushed iceto fill
Method
Muddle the lemon wedges and mint with the syrup, add the bourbon and shake with ice. Strain over crushed ice and garnish with a mint sprig and a lemon wedge.
Rocks glass · crushed ice · mint sprig and lemon