Buck stops here

Bourbon Buck – Summer lovin’

I don’t normally ruin a perfectly good bourbon by mixing fruit into it. However, I have been known to occasionally enjoy an Old Fashioned so I guess I’m not a purist. Credit for this fine cocktail variation goes to a good friend, Thank you, Teresa!

The Bourbon Buck is the quintessential Summer drink. The Bourbon Buck is not a complicated drink to make and you can mix it up to create some interesting variations. In its purest form, it involves mixing ginger beer or ginger ale with a little lemon and of course that tasty brown booze. I personally prefer the ginger beer as it is not as sweet and gives a crisper taste. I also like to add a little mint if you have it. It’s good without it too!

I don’t normally measure as I think you can eyeball this for the most part and end up with a nice drink but if you are one of those “detail oriented” types you would do the following;

• 2 oz. your favorite bourbon.
• ¾ oz. Lemon Juice
• ½ oz. of simple syrup or a packet of sugar/cube
• couple of dashes of Angostura bitters
• 1 mint leaf
• Ginger beer

Okay, now the fun part. Muddle fruit, mint and lemon juice. I sometimes muddle a small wedge of lemon instead of squeezing the juice. Give a couple shakes of bitters and add ice. Pour bourbon in and top off with ginger beer. Slight stir and you are ready to roll.

Want to garnish the glass? Take a lemon wedge and slide it around the rim of the glass like you were going to make a margarita. Voila!

Pair with some Portugal the Man and your boots kicked up by the campfire.