Blueberry Bourbon Smash
Garnished with lemon sugar, this Blueberry Bourbon Smash makes for
one heck of an awesome summer cocktail!
I love northern summers. Growing up in the south, summers were still awesome…but the temperatures could be a bit much at times. When we lived in Atlanta, we’d wake up at 7am on weekends to do yard work because it was too darned hot to do anything outside by 10am. But northern summers are incredible! It could be because the temperature doesn’t tip over 100°F each day, or it could be the mere fact that there’s no snow. Throw in the fact that my grill is in use almost every night, and I am one happy camper!
But can we talk about one of my least favorite parts of summer? Yard work. I really dislike having to go out and mow/weed-eat all the time. I love being outdoors, but I’d rather be in a hammock with a good book. A couple of weeks ago, I spent the entire weekend shoveling mulch. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into when I ordered 6 yards of mulch to be delivered to our driveway. However, (endless wheelbarrow loads later), our yard looked awesome with that fresh layer of mulch around the garden and flower beds. There is something nice about walking barefoot across a recently-mowed lawn and smelling that sharp smell of freshly-cut grass.
Speaking of cutting grass, our neighbor must love the smell of freshly-cut grass. He mows his lawn at least every other day. I’m not kidding. From April-October, I don’t think 48 hours have passed without him out there mowing. I joke that he uses more gas in his lawnmower than in his car. While I certainly don’t mind him keeping his yard looking nice, he always seems to fire up that mower as soon as I lay down in the hammock to read. Oh well, I guess it’s better than the alternative of having a neighbor who never mows, right?
Blueberry Bourbon Smash
Blueberry Bourbon SmashThe other day, we decided to get the weekend started off right with some cocktails on the back porch. (Fortunately, the neighbor was out of town, so we didn’t have to worry about his mower.) I’ve always been a fan of whiskey and bourbon, so I decided to whip up a classic bourbon smash. But then I noticed that we had some blueberries in the fridge, so I decided to throw a few of those in there, too. The result? Awesome!
This Blueberry Bourbon Smash just screams, “Drink me on a warm summer afternoon!” So that’s exactly what we did. And to add a fun little twist, I garnished the rims of the glasses with lemon sugar. Oh, and if you think you don’t like whiskey, then do me a favor and try this Blueberry Bourbon Smash first. The citrus, mint and sugar balance the sharp taste of the bourbon to create this tasty summer cocktail! Is it 5:00 yet?
Did you make a batch of this Blueberry Bourbon Smash at home? Leave a comment! Or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). Cheers!
Looking for more tasty summer recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Grilled Blackened Chicken Kabobs
Smoked Beef Chuck Roast (w/ Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce!)
Malted Milk Ice Cream
Blueberry Bourbon Smash
Ingredients
For the Simple Syrup
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
For the Lemon Sugar
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
For the Bourbon Smash
- 12 mint leaves
- 1 lemon sliced into 8 wedges
- ¼ cup fresh blueberries
- 5 Tbsp simple syrup
- 2/3 cup bourbon
- crushed ice
Instructions
For the Simple Syrup
- Place sugar and water in small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is fully dissolved. Refrigerate any leftover simple syrup in an air-tight container for up to 1 month.
For the Lemon Sugar
- In a small bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest; stir until well combined.
For the Bourbon Smash
- To prepare the rocks glasses, place the lemon sugar on a plate. Wet the rim of the glass with a bit of water and then invert the glass into the lemon sugar. Twist the glass a couple of times and then turn upright; repeat with remaining glasses. Set glasses aside.
- In a cocktail shaker, add the mint leaves, lemons, blueberries and simple syrup; muddle well.
- Add bourbon and ice; shake well.
- Fill prepared rocks glasses with crushed ice. Strain bourbon smash into the prepared glasses.
- Garnish with additional mint spring, lemon wheel or fresh blueberries.
haha that’s so funny David!! our neighbour usually mows their lawn like once a month but I bet your neighbours lawn looks amazing!! This smash is what my weekend needs!
Haha! I guess one a day mowing is better than once a month mowing…but still. I mean how much can grass really grow in one day?? I hope you had an awesome weekend, Ami! 🙂
Haha, your posts always give me a good laugh.
Yeeeeah, it’s cocktail time! Putting fruit in this practically makes it a healthy choice.
Hah…thank you, Dannii! I try to have fun when I write my posts. 🙂 And yes, the addition of blueberries totally makes this healthy. Or at least that’s what I tell myself. Haha!
Yes! It’s 5:00 somewhere! And a neighbor who over mows is better than one who under mows! Happy Weekend!
I’m with ya, Rachelle…over-mowing is indeed better than under-=mowing. But when you use more gas in your lawnmower than your car? Haha…oh well. Clearly I just need to make another Blueberry Bourbon Smash and sit back. Is it Friday yet??
Haha – David – too funny that your neighbor fires up his mower just when you are getting comfortable! If I was your neighbor, I’d fire up my lawnmower till you started bribing me no to do so with that Smores Cake – ooh or that Strawberry one – ooh or wait maybe some donuts…oh good gosh! I might just offer to take out your trash and mow YOUR lawn for some of those treats!
This is one pretty, pretty drink! And lemon and blueberry – such a wonderful combo – ooh – even better in cake form 😉
BTW, it sure is nice walking barefoot across a recently-mowed lawn and smelling that sharp smell of freshly-cut grass – till you step in a pile of dog-poop! Then you learn not to walk around barefoot! Have a wonderful weekend!
Oh you would do that, Shashi. You’d sit there running your mower right on the edge of your yard until I gave in. Actually, let’s make a deal. If you like mowing so much, you can just roll that mower right on into my yard. And then I’ll send you home with all sorts of treats. (But you can’t share them with lil Shashi…they’re all yours since you did all the work. haha!) Yeah, let’s not talk about dog poop. I know that one all too well. And since it’s too cold to really go out there in the winter (i.e. 5 months) up here…let’s really not talk about the Spring yard cleanup. 🙂
David, these are GORGEOUS!!!! LOVE the addition of the blueberries!!!!
Thank you so much, Alice!! I hope you had an awesome weekend!
Hi David! I’ve never been much of a “brown booze” fan – I usually stick to vodka (or moonshine), but this just might change my mind! I bought my first house when I was 21 and my next door neighbor mowed his grass every other day! I soon found of why, he and his wife fought like cats and dogs so it was his was of escaping!
Hah…I love that you mentioned moonshine here. You crack me up, Dorothy! I mean, you gotta kinda like bourbon with this drink…but it’s really darn tasty! Oh, and we’ve totally suspected something like that with the fighting or the kids or something. I mean, why else do you spend more time on your mower than you do in your house?? Unless you just really don’t like grass that gets 1/4″ too tall…haha!
OMG, we must have the same neighbors… seriously, every other day, AT LEAST. One set of neighbors was (honest-to-god) mowing their lawn in DECEMBER (we live in PA!)!
But ANYWAY… these drinks, what a gorgeous color! I love that blueberry-bourbon combo!
No way! How do you mow your lawn in December?? My wife’s family lives in central PA, and we head down there for Christmas every year…and there’s often snow on the ground. So was he mowing the snow!?! Let’s turn the mower off for a change and have a Blueberry Bourbon Smash instead! 🙂
I need one of those tonight!!!!
These are super easy to make, Phronsie! They’re definitely a new favorite around here. Is it Friday yet? I could go for another one! 🙂
David, that’s good I haven’t got any love for gardening. Just at all. Once in a while I give my hand, basically, when needed to carry some heavy stuff (or to pick herbs to grow), but all these weeds, soil, etc make me depressed. Now about this Smash. You may remember my relationship with strong alchocol, but I would definitely give this a try. I mean I won’t probably even finish my glass up but anyways, haha. Nice presentation!
Yeah, the weeds make me depressed, too, Ben. I spend at least an hour in the garden yesterday pulling weeds. It was pretty much the most NOT fun thing to do on a Sunday afternoon. Hey, it’s ok if you can’t finish the glass. You can just lick all the lemon sugar off the rim, instead. haha!
Hahaha is it creepy/odd that I know what weekend your referring to? I swear there’s a neighbour like that everywhere- All I can say is Thank goodness for lawn mowing rules (I think it’s 8am Saturdays/9am Sundays?) back home otherwise my version of yours would have…poison mushrooms growing on his land. This looks ALMOST too pretty to drink. Key word, almost.
Not creepy at all, mate! I guess for every neighbor who mows all the time there is probably a neighbor who never mows. And I’ll gladly take the mower over the non-mower. But still! Poison mushrooms? Like the ones in Super Mario Bros? Wait…those were good mushrooms! Haha!
This drinks looks so refreshing. I’m glad you were able to enjoy it mower free.
Haha! Thank you so much, Celeste! I hope you had a great weekend, too! 🙂
We have a neighbor that mows his yard every couple of days too! I love the lemon sugar rim on this!! I would also love it if you would link this up to Tipsy Tuesday a weekly cocktail linkup at Grey is the New Black.
Thanks so much, Pam! I guess mowing is therapeutic to some…but not me. Hah! And thanks for the Tipsy Tuesday suggestion…heading over there now! 🙂