Skip to content

Top Navigation

Food & Wine Food & Wine
  • Recipes & Cooking
  • Drinks
  • Travel
  • Holidays & Events
  • News
  • F&W Classic
  • Video
  • Kitchen & Home
  • F&W Pro

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Wine Club
  • Podcast
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Food & Wine

Food & Wine Food & Wine
  • Explore

    Explore

    • F&W Cooks

      Food and Wine presents a new network of food pros delivering the most cookable recipes and delicious ideas online. Read More Next
    • Our 22 Best Crock Pot and Slow-Cooker Recipes

      Looking to amp up your beef stew but unsure where to start? A slow cooker can can take your comfort food to the next level. Read More Next
    • 50 Affordable Wines You Can Always Trust

      We’ve assembled a list of 50 of the world’s most reliable, inexpensive wines – bottles that offer amazing quality for their price year in and year out. Read More Next
  • Recipes & Cooking

    Recipes & Cooking

    See All Recipes & Cooking
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Comfort Food Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Vegetable Recipes
    • Pasta & Noodle Recipes
    • Chefs
    • Meat & Poultry Recipes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
    • Side Dishes
    • Fruit Recipes
    • Seafood Recipes
    • Special Diets
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Steal This Trick
  • Drinks

    Drinks

    See All Drinks
    • Wine
    • Cocktails & Spirits
    • Coffee Drinks & Recipes
    • Juices
    • Beer & Brews
    • Champagne & Sparkling Wine
    • Tea Recipes & Ideas
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    • Wine Regions
    • Restaurants
  • Holidays & Events

    Holidays & Events

    See All Holidays & Events
    • Valentine's Day
    • Halloween
    • Passover
    • Hanukkah
    • Christmas
    • Gifts
    • Super Bowl
    • Easter
    • Thanksgiving
    • New Year's Eve
    • Holiday Entertaining
  • News
  • F&W Classic
  • Video
  • Kitchen & Home
  • F&W Pro

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Wine Club
  • Podcast
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home Chevron Right
  2. Drinks Chevron Right
  3. The 6 Ingredients That Will Transform Your Bourbon

The 6 Ingredients That Will Transform Your Bourbon

By Food & Wine
Updated September 03, 2015
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Credit: Courtesy of Liquor.com
Simplicity is key when making cocktails at home. Though it’s hard not to love a basic whiskey and ginger ale, sometimes it’s exactly that: basic. Then again, more than three or four ingredients in one glass can spell disaster for your kitchen and your drinks. But when armed with a small arsenal of mixing supplies, your at-home bourbon cocktail–drinking experience improves ten-fold. And what you need beyond the basic kitchen supplies is surprisingly limited.The six ingredients you need at the ready:Sweet vermouthCampariSimple syrupAngostura bittersLemonSoda waterFirst things first. From your cupboard, you’ll need sugar (combine it with water for a batch of simple syrup), fresh lemon juice (save the peel!) and soda water. Next up: Buy bottles of sweet vermouth and Campari—and don’t forget the dropper of Angostura Bitters, which you may even be able to pick up at the grocery store.This piece originally appeared on Liquor.com.
Start Slideshow

1 of 5

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Boulevardier

Credit: Courtesy of Liquor.com

What You Need:

Bourbon, sweet vermouth, CampariMix, stir and sip. It’s really as simple as that to get this American twist on the classic Italian Negroni.Get the recipe for the Boulevardier.

1 of 5

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 5

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Old Fashioned

Credit: Courtesy of Liquor.com

What You Need:

Bourbon, sugar, Angostura Bitters, lemon peelAn ultra-classic, this Old Fashioned is one of those must-know recipes. In lieu of muddled fruit in this recipe, mix together the bitters and sugar, muddle, add the bourbon and ice, and garnish with a lemon peel. Easy peasy.Get the recipe for the Old Fashioned.

2 of 5

3 of 5

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Manhattan

Credit: Courtesy of Liquor.com

What You Need:

Bourbon, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters, lemon peelDid you know this elegant quaff only takes three ingredients to make—not including the garnish? Though it’s typically topped with a bright red cherry, the lemon peel provides a welcome update. Get the recipe for the Manhattan.

3 of 5

Advertisement

4 of 5

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Whiskey Sour

Credit: Courtesy of Liquor.com

What You Need:

Bourbon, fresh lemon juice, simple syrupThe inner workings of your lemon will come in handy. No pre-made sour mix here, thanks. Get the recipe for the Whiskey Sour.

4 of 5

5 of 5

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Bourbon Collins

Credit: Courtesy of Liquor.com

What You Need:

Bourbon, fresh lemon juice, sugar, soda waterIf the Whiskey Sour is a bit too, well, sour for your taste, dump it in a Collins glass, add ice and top with soda. Who knew cocktailing could be so easy? Get the recipe for the Bourbon Collins.

5 of 5

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Food & Wine

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 5 Boulevardier
2 of 5 Old Fashioned
3 of 5 Manhattan
4 of 5 Whiskey Sour
5 of 5 Bourbon Collins

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Login

Food & Wine

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Books from Food & Wine
  • Contact Us
  • Media Kit
  • Content Licensing

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Food & Wine is part of the Meredith Corporation Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.foodandwine.com

View image

The 6 Ingredients That Will Transform Your Bourbon
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.