Bourbon Blackberry Bramble

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Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/Nut-Free/Vegan

Skill Level: Beginner

Yield: 1 cocktail

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Equipment Needed:

• Chef's knife

• Cutting board

• Shot glass measure/Jigger

• Muddler (see note below if you don't have one)

• Pint glass

• Cocktail shaker

• 10-oz rocks glass

The Recipe:

This recipe is adapted from a recipe by Anders Erickson

Ingredients

• 1/4 of a lemon, cut into 4 wedges

• 6 blackberries

• 2 dashes old fashioned bitters (or more or less, to taste)

• Pinch salt

• 6 mint leaves (or more or less, to taste)

• 2 ounces bourbon

• 1/2 ounce pure maple syrup

• Additional blackberries and mint leaves, for garnish (optional)

Procedure:

1. Add lemon wedges, blackberries, bitters, and pinch of salt to a pint glass. Use a muddler (see note below if you don't have one) to crush everything together VERY well. You want to extract all of the delicious oils from the rind of the lemon, so really give it a good go.

2. Add a scoop of ice to your cocktail shaker, along with the mint leaves, bourbon, and maple syrup.

3. Empty the contents of the pint glass into your shaker.

4. Shake vigorously a minimum of 15-20 times.

5. Fill a 10-ounce rocks with fresh ice. Strain your cocktail shaker over fresh ice.

To Serve: Garnish your cocktail with 3 blackberries and a sprig of mint, if desired.

Adjusting for your diet: If you don't drink alcohol, simply omit the bourbon. You may wish to add a splash of club soda to make a sparkling blackberry mocktail (I think this would be delicious). If you go this route, I would make the recipe as is, minus the bourbon, strain over ice and then add your splash of club soda.

Tips:

• Although I always list cocktail garnishes as "optional," in my humble opinion they should be there. There is an awesome book I use as a resource called The Flavor Bible, and in the first chapter it talks about how aroma is responsible for as much as 80% or more of flavor. I think taking a drink of a flavorful cocktail and inhaling the aroma of a sprig of herb or a twist of citrus really does enhance the overall experience.

• If you don't already have a muddler, don't buy one (unless you think you're going to get really into mixology, in which case I fully support you). You can use the handle-end of a wooden spoon as your muddler, or if you happen to own a French-style rolling pin, this would work great, too.

• If you are a huge fan of mint, you could muddle the mint leaves up with the lemon and blackberry in step 1. I liked the very subtle hint-of-mint I got from shaking but not muddling, but to each their own.

• I would definitely stick with pure maple syrup; do not substitute a pancake syrup in this recipe. Many pancake syrups are actually corn syrup with mapleine flavoring or sugar added. You will not get the same taste as a pure maple syrup. If you do not have pure maple syrup you could substitute simple syrup (heat equal parts white sugar and water over medium-low heat until the sugar completely dissolves).

• If you wanted a sweeter cocktail, you could add more blackberries and/or add more maple syrup.

• If you are not a huge fan of bitters or don't have them available, leave them out. I added this ingredient because I love bitters, but you will still be sipping on an exceptional cocktail without them.

The Story:

I saw blackberries on sale at the grocery store and purchased them on a whim. Then, I did what any good mom would do and googled "blackberry cocktails" when I got home.

This was a photo from my first draft which used half of a lemon; you wont' have this many lemon wedges if you follow my revised recipe above.

I found a cool YouTube video that showcased a few summer cocktails (the author called them "smashes," I guess because they're all muddled, or he is possible an OG Jersey Shore fan...), and one of them called for blackberries and bourbon. The color was beautiful and I had everything I needed to make it, so I thought I'd give it a shot (ha, see what I did there...).

Any cocktail that has a few ingredients and gets shaken probably doesn't call for a super amazing bourbon; I used Jim Beam and it tasted great!

I made the cocktail exactly as written and while I thought it was very tasty, it was extremely tart and just didn't push all the right buttons for me, so I executed a few changes on round 2. I cut the lemon in half, cut the maple syrup down just a hair, added bitters and added a pinch of salt, a mixology tip that has been suggested to me by a good friend. I used Diamond Kosher salt because it's my go-to, but I think you could use any type of salt and achieve a similar flavor-brightening-quality.

Amazing colors, how could you not want to take a sip...

Draft #2 was incredible, I have to say. This is the type of cocktail that could get you into trouble, friends. A bit of tart, a touch of sweet, a barely-there taste of bourbon. There is actually a traditional cocktail called a "blackberry bramble" which is where this cocktail name was derived from; the original cocktail boasts gin, blackberries, lemon juice and club soda. A "bramble" actually refers to the rough, prickly shrub that blackberries grow on (fun fact).

Cheers!