This blackberry bourbon smash recipe is a fun and fruity drink for the bourbon lover! Made with fresh blackberries, mint, lime juice, simple syrup, bourbon, and topped with club soda.
If you’ve been looking for summer cocktails with bourbon, this blackberry bourbon smash recipe is for you! This refreshing cocktail is perfect for a warm summer night.
This style of drink is called a smash for a reason: by muddling (or “smashing”) the fruit and herbs it helps to extract the oils and juices to really infuse the flavors into your cocktail. The fresh blackberries and mint scream summer and meld wonderfully with the bourbon.
Why this Blackberry Smash Cocktail is for you!
Level of difficulty: Easy. Minimal cutting required for the lemon, then all you need to do is muddle, shake, strain, and enjoy.
Flavor: The blackberry, mint, and lime all shine through in this drink, making this one of the best summer bourbon cocktails!
Time: It will take you approximately 5 minutes to mix up your whiskey smash.
What you’ll need for this Blackberry Bourbon drink
- Fresh Blackberries
- Fresh Mint
- Lime
- Simple Syrup
- Bourbon
- Club Soda
See recipe card below for a full list of measurements and directions.
What is the Best Bourbon to Use for a Bourbon Smash Cocktail?
Since there are minimal ingredients in this cocktail, using a high-quality bourbon is important when making a blackberry bourbon smash. Three of my favorites are J.Henry & Sons, Makers Mark Cask Strength, and Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. But the best bourbon for this summer bourbon drink recipe is a bourbon that you enjoy!
Helpful Equipment
Using a jigger is always helpful when measuring your cocktail ingredients. You’ll also need a cocktail shaker (or an upcycled jar!) to shake your drink, and a strainer to remove the pulp from your drink. Utilizing cocktail picks is always helpful for your garnish too!
How to make a Blackberry Bourbon Smash
Place blackberries, mint leaves, and lime wedges in a shaker.
Muddle until well-smashed.
Add simple syrup, bourbon, and ice to the shaker and shake vigorously, until the outside of the shaker is very cold (approximately 15 seconds).
Strain the contents of the shaker into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with club soda and optionally garnish your glass with additional mint, blackberries, and/or a lime slice.
Sip and enjoy!
How to make Blackberry Bourbon Cocktails for a crowd
You can make a pitcher of this blackberry bourbon smash recipe up to 12 hours before serving. To do so, muddle the blackberries, mint, and lime juice in a glass pitcher. Stir in the bourbon and refrigerate until ready to serve. When guests arrive, add ice to your pitcher and give it a good stir to begin diluting the drink (as you normally would through the shaking process). Either add your club soda in at the same time as the ice, or club soda in an ice bucket next to the pitcher for guests to top their own drink. For a little extra pizazz, add some lime slices and fresh blackberries into the pitcher prior to serving as well.
As everyone will have a different sized pitcher, we’ll do an easy example assuming you want to batch 10 drinks. In your pitcher, muddle about 40 blackberries (about 2 cups), 40 mint leaves, and the juice of 5 limes. Then stir in 20 ounces (or 2 + ½ Cups) of bourbon.
Blackberry Bourbon Smash Recipe variations
- Change up the citrus: try lemon instead of the lime.
- Try a different fresh herb: fresh basil is another fun option for summer cocktails
- Swap out the soda: instead of the club soda, try a splash of ginger beer, ginger ale, or flavored sparkling water of choice
- Use a different sweetener: if you do not have simple syrup, granulated sugar, agave syrup, or honey would also work. This honey simple syrup would also be good.
- Try a different fresh fruit: raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and peaches are all great summer fruits to try.
- This raspberry bourbon smash is another favorite!
- A peach bourbon smash is also a delight if you love stone fruit.
Bourbon Blackberry Cocktail FAQs
In a pinch, most whiskeys will serve as a good substitute. The name ‘bourbon’ is short for ‘bourbon whiskey’, and there are many other types of whisky too. I would recommend a smoother style of whiskey, like an Irish Whiskey or Blended Whiskey.
The short answer is no, but I highly recommend it. I personally find this bourbon smash recipe much more enjoyable when strained because of the large seeds in the fresh blackberries. If you’d prefer to skip this step, you can muddle your ingredients directly in your glass and stir your drink instead of shaking it.
Love this Recipe? Try One of These Fruity Cocktail Recipes Next!
Blackberry Bourbon Smash Recipe
Ingredients
- 4-5 fresh blackberries
- 4-5 fresh mint leaves
- juice of ½ of a medium lime
- ½ oz simple syrup
- 2 oz bourbon
- club soda to top
Instructions
- Place blackberries, mint leaves, and lime wedges in a shaker.
- Muddle until well-smashed.
- Add simple syrup, bourbon, and ice to the shaker and shake vigorously, until the outside of the shaker is very cold (approximately 15 seconds).
- Strain the contents of the shaker into a highball glass filled with ice. Top with club soda and optionally garnish your glass with additional mint, blackberries, and/or a lime slice.
- Sip and enjoy!
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