Bourbon Cocktail with Grilled Lemon Simple Syrup

We love Bourbon Cocktails in our house and this one just made it to the top of the list. A Grilled Lemon simple syrup is the base, then we add our favorite bourbon and a few dashes of cherry bitters.

Jump to:

• How to Make Simple Syrup
• Bitters for a Bourbon Cocktail
• Making the Cocktail
• Other Great Cocktails
• Bourbon Cocktail with Grilled Lemon Simple Syrup Recipe

This cocktail is perfect whether looking for a summer bourbon cocktail, or just something creative while grilling outside. I say that because it is so easy to make. All you need are the grilled lemons and some bourbon. Add a touch of bitters to make the cocktail pop.

• We start with grilled lemons and make a simple syrup.
• We then make the cocktail

How to Make Simple Syrup

A typical simple syrup uses a ratio of 1 part water to 1 part sugar.

In this case we modify to include the water and the grilled lemon juice. Because of the natural sugars from the lemon, we also reduce the sugar of a typical simple syrup so it doesn’t come out too overly sweet. Want to know how to grill lemons for grilled lemon juice? Start here.

The ratio for the Grilled Lemon Simple Syrup is:

• 1 part water
• 1 part grilled lemon juice
• 3/4 part sugar

The sugar will dissolve and sweeten the liquid for any cocktail or beverage.

Simply add the water, grilled lemon juice, and sugar to a small sauce pan over medium heat, stir to incorporate and then cool it down. Store in the fridge for a week or up to 10 days.

Bitters for a Bourbon Cocktail

There are many options for bitters. Bitters are a botanically infused liqueur that take on a specific flavor profile to enhance a cocktail. In the case of this one, we use cherry bitters. Any fruit based bitters will work.

Making the Cocktail

With any cocktail you can either make in a shaker or in the glass and stir. For this one we mix directly in the glass for each drink.

• Place 3 ice cubes (or a large cocktail cube, using a mold like this) in a low ball glass.
• Add 2 1/2 ounces of bourbon and 2 1/2 ounces of grilled lemon simple syrup.
• Add three dashes of bitters.
• Stir and enjoy.

For an easy bourbon cocktail, it doesn’t get better than this. And it is worth the extra step of grilling the lemons.

Other Great Cocktails

• Hot Toddy
• Bourbon Spiked Apple Cider
• Smoked Old Fashioned
• Mulled Wine

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