A bourbon smash from Toni Tipton Martin’s latest book, Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs & Juice (Clarkson-Potter, 2023), this blackberry-ginger bourbon smash is sweet, spicy, and well-balanced. Our managing editor, Emily Havener, made hers with Uncle Nearest bourbon, named for the enslaved man, Nathan Green, who is now credited with teaching Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. She adds a splash of lavender Empress gin for added complexity.
recipe 
yields
Makes 1 cocktail
5 large fresh blackberries
½ ounce (1 tablespoon) St-Germain elderflower liqueur
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 ounces (¼ cup) Uncle Nearest 1856 bourbon
Crushed ice
¼ cup ginger beer
½ teaspoon Empress Indigo gin (optional)
1 mint sprig
ingredients
steps
- Place 3 berries, St-Germain, and lemon juice in a rocks glass. Use a muddler to gently mash and mix until berries release their juice, about 10 seconds. Add bourbon and fill the glass with crushed ice.
- Pour in ginger beer. Float gin on top, if using, and garnish with mint and remaining berries.
Date Published: 01.29.24
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- Reprinted with permission from Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs & Juice by Toni Tipton-Martin, copyright © 2023. Photographs by Brittany Conerly. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
