Normally, I try to drink seasonally — not because there’s a whole ton of variety in alcohol through the seasons (bourbon in June is either ready or not, most of it is aged anyway), but because going lighter when it’s hotter is nice.
But whiskey sours are always a delight. What I wanted for this cocktail was apricots you could taste, appreciate and enjoy for their yummy goodness.
Knowing that, getting fresh apricots was out of the question. What I needed was cocktail-ready apricots. What I needed was apricot fruit spread.
For the Apricot Whisky Sour, I used Bulleit Bourbon as my spirit of choice because it has a great balance of sweet and smoky notes that work well with the apricots. You could also use Maker’s Mark or another bourbon that you enjoy drinking.
So, I grabbed a jar of Bonne Maman Apricot Fruit Spread and got to work. The final recipe is below.
Ingredients:
1 oz bourbon
3/4 oz apricot fruit spread
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/4 oz simple syrup (or more to taste)
1 dash orange bitters
Maraschino cherry, for garnish
Instructions: Add all ingredients except garnish to a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
As for the fruit spread, I used Bonne Maman because it wasn’t overly sweet and had a nice balance of flavors — apricot, black currant, and vanilla. However, this recipe will work with any good brand of apricot fruit spread. You may need less simple syrup if you don’t use a particularly sweet fruit spread.
So, there you go. A cocktail for all of your summer apricot needs. You don’t even need to be a fan of whisky sours to enjoy this one, but if you are and you love apricots too? Well, it’s a double whammy from heaven.
Enjoy your drink!
