Make These Whiskey Cocktails Created for Grilling Season

Memorial Day Weekend is upon us: in addition to honoring our fallen veterans, it's also the unofficial kick-off of summer, when weekends are made for cookouts. While it's perfectly fine to set out a cooler of beers and hard seltzers, this year pull out your bar cart too. Whisky cocktails can enhance the flavors of smoked ribs, juicy burgers, charred steak, and anything else you grill. “You can use a smoky whisky to complement smoked or char-grilled meats and veggies, or something peppery like a rye to bring out the rubs and seasoning commonly used in summer cookouts,” says Rebecca Mullis, bar administrator at Husk Savannah in Georgia. Add classic warm-weather flavors like iced tea, lemonade, and seasonal fruit, and friends will be grilling you for these recipes.

Peachy Quien

Created by Ziv Scherman, food and beverage director, Blue Jay Bistro, Littleton, North Carolina

This bright, lively drink starts with sweet peach, then the heat starts to build. Scherman recommends serving it with a burger, ideally one topped with bacon, cheddar, and tangy barbecue sauce.

• 1½ oz. Stranahan’s Original (or other smoky American single malt)
• ½ oz. peach moonshine
• 1½ oz. peach purée (recipe below)
• ½ oz. jalapeño simple syrup (recipe below)
• Smoked chardonnay salt and jalapeño slice for garnish
• Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake about 10 seconds to chill. Rim a rocks glass with salt. Place a large ice cube in the glass. Strain cocktail over ice and garnish with jalapeño slice.

Peach Purée and Jalapeño Simple Syrup

• 1 cup simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water)
• 2-3 peaches, sliced
• 1-2 medium jalapeños (if you like spicy, use 3-4), sliced into ¼-inch rounds

Place all ingredients in a metal or hard plastic bowl and refrigerate for 4 hours to steep. Remove peaches and purée in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a sealable container and keep refrigerated for up to 3 days. Strain remaining jalapeño syrup into a sealable container. Keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Pistachio Paper Plane

Created by Chris Chernock, beverage director, Asterid, Los Angeles

“The subtle sweet notes of summer peach and bourbon in this cocktail help to balance out the warm charred notes of grilled chicken wings, while the citrus cleanses the palate between bites,” Chernock says.

• ¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
• ¾ oz. Matchbook Distilling Co. Day Trip Peach amaro
• ¾ oz. Select Aperitivo
• ¾ oz. toasted pistachio-infused bourbon (recipe below)

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake vigorously for 20 to 25 seconds. Double strain into a Nick and Nora or coupe.

Toasted Pistachio-Infused Bourbon

• 2/3-1 cup pistachios
• 1 bottle Four Roses (or other high-rye bourbon)

Preheat oven to 450° F. Spread pistachios evenly on a baking sheet and roast until fragrant and brownish, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven. While still warm, use a muddler or mallet to break pistachios into pieces. Place pieces in a vessel with bourbon; cover and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Fine-strain through cheesecloth into a sealable container. Keep refrigerated for up to 1 month.

Ruby Rush

Created by Rebecca Mullis, bar administrator, Husk Savannah

This silky, subtly sweet play on the Gold Rush pairs well with grilled fish. “The brightness of the lemon and hibiscus, plus the rye, which is lower-ABV, won’t be overpowered by a lighter protein,” Mullis explains.

• 2 oz. Catoctin Creek Roundstone rye 80 proof (or other low-proof rye)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 3/4 oz. hibiscus honey (recipe below)
• Lemon wheel and edible flower for garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake 15 to 20 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over a large cube. Garnish with lemon wheel and edible flower.

Hibiscus Honey

• ½ cup dried hibiscus flowers
• 1 cup honey
• ½ cup water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat to cool, then strain into a sealable container. Keep refrigerated for up to 1 month.

Summer Smash

Created by Reece Morris, manager and bartender, Dapper Duck, Orlando

“The oakiness of the Irish whiskey comes through the sweet strawberry lemonade, making this a good pairing with smoked barbecue ribs,” Morris says.

• 3-5 mint leaves
• 1½ oz. Proper No. 12 (or other Irish single malt)
• ½ oz. triple sec
• 8 oz. lemonade
• 1½ oz. strawberry puree
• Lemon wheel and mint sprig for garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake for 5 seconds. Fine-strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Garnish with lemon wheel and mint sprig.

The Bourbon Street

Created by Shafique Sobers, bar manager, Skylark, New York City

The sweeter notes in this tart, slightly smoky cocktail contrast with a savory burger, Sobers says.

• 1½ oz. Wyoming Whiskey Outryder (or rye whiskey)
• ½ oz. mezcal
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• ¾ oz. black cherry-infused syrup (like Reàl Black Cherry Puree syrup)
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• 3 drops Bittermens Elemakule Tiki bitters
• 3 dashes Fee Brothers Fee Foam
• 3 brandied cherries and lemon wheel for garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake for 15 seconds, then double strain over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with cherries on a toothpick and lemon wheel on top.