Whiskey Cocktails to Make at Home

For the longest time, cocktails have encouraged the creative consumption of alcohol, and for good reasons. Combining different ingredients to come up with the ultimate drink has always been more exciting and complex than drinking plain spirits. More importantly, you can make cocktails out of anything — they are completely customizable and limited only by imagination. The most popular liquors used to make cocktails are vodka, gin, rum, and whiskey. Making a whiskey cocktail is an art form, and to get creative you’ll need a selection of various types of whiskey, such as bourbon, Scotch, and rye.

We offer local delivery from Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville, NJ, and we ship wine and spirits within New Jersey. Below are popular whiskey cocktail recipes you can make from the comfort of your home bar.

Popular Whiskey Cocktails

You can make fantastic cocktails at home. The classic winter whiskey sour works best with bourbon, while the Godfather hits nostalgic notes with its sweetness and can be made with Scotch, bourbon, or another whiskey. The whiskey eggnog is a party staple, and the Sweet Manhattan adds bitters that go with any meal. You can stick with the classic recipes if you like, but it is easy and fun to get creative and come up with your own homemade whiskey cocktail recipes.

Gear You'll Need to Make Whiskey Cocktail Recipes

Making cocktails is an art, and a mixologist must have the right equipment on hand, much like a painter requires a decent brush. Although bartenders employ a complex assortment of peculiar gear, making cocktails is much easier than you may imagine.

To mix up James Bond-caliber cocktails, you'll need a jigger or any other practical measuring tool. You will also need a shaker. These come in two styles —the traditional Cobbler Shaker (nice and simple) or the Boston Shaker (the bartender’s choice, but it takes a little practice to master). If you are using a Boston-style shaker, you will need a strainer because it lacks a sieve. You can prepare herbs and spices with a muddler and create long, thin spirals for the garnish by peeling citrus fruits with a channel knife. A juicer and cups to pour your drinks into are additional necessities.

How to Make a Winter Whiskey Sour

Ingredients

• 50 ml Garrison Brothers single barrel whiskey
• 2 slices of orange
• ˝ tablespoon syrup
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Crushed ice.

Get honey and edible gold glitter for decoration.

Method

1. Use your finger or a small paintbrush to brush some honey around the tumblers' rims. Use a different brush to stick edible gold glitter around each tumbler rim.
2. Fill your glasses with crushed ice.
3. Mix the bourbon in a shaker with the sugar syrup, lemon juice, and orange juice.
4. Shake the mixture well and strain it into each glass.
5. Serve with short straws and an orange slice.

How to Make an Old-Fashioned

Ingredients

• 60 ml bourbon or Scotch
• Orange slice
• Splash of water
• 1-2 dashes of Angostura bitters
• 2 tablespoons of sugar syrup or 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
• maraschino cherry (optional)
• soda water (optional).

Method

1. Add the water, bitters, and sugar to the tumbler.
2. Mix thoroughly to ensure proper sugar dissolution, especially for the granulated sugar.
3. Add ice to the glass and stir in your whiskey.
4. Mix in a splash of soda water if you want.
5. Garnish the drink with cherry and orange.

How to Make a Brown Derby

Ingredients

• 50 ml Bushmills whiskey
• 10 ml honey
• 35 ml pink grapefruit juice (use 100% juice, not from concentrate)
• grapefruit wedge for garnishing.

Method

1. Tip the honey, juice, and whiskey into a cocktail shaker.
2. Shake the mixture to combine.
3. Double-strain into a stemmed cocktail glass.
4. Garnish using the grapefruit wedge.

How to Make a Mint Julep

Ingredients

• 65 ml bourbon
• Crushed and cubed ice
• 5 ml 2:1 sugar syrup
• 10 mint leaves

Method

1. Shake the sugar syrup, mint leaves, and bourbon with ice.
2. Strain the mix into a highball glass or crushed ice-filled julep tin.
3. Gently churn using a long-handled spoon.
4. Top with extra crushed ice, then garnish and serve.

How to Make a Sweet Manhattan

Ingredients

• 50 ml bourbon
• 5 ml syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries
• 25 ml Rosso vermouth
• 2 dashes of Angostura bitter
• Ice

Use a twist of pared lemon and maraschino cherry to garnish.

Method

1. Add ice and the ingredients to a mixing glass, then stir.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass, garnish and serve.

How to Make a Godfather Cocktail

Ingredients

• 50 ml whiskey (Usually Scotch, but another whiskey is fine)
• Ice
• 25 ml amaretto
• Strip of orange peel for garnishing

Method

1. Add the amaretto and whiskey into a mixing jug or glass.
2. Add a large handful of ice.
3. Using a long-handled spoon, stir the mix until the glass exterior feels chilly.
4. Taste to gauge dilution.
5. Fill your glass with ice.
6. Strain the cocktail mix into the ice-filled glass.
7. Garnish with the orange peel however you desire.

How to Make a Silver 75

Ingredients

• 17 ml Buffalo Trace
• Sparkling white wine
• 14 ml lemon juice
• 14 ml simple syrup
• Cherry and lemon peel for garnishing.

Method

1. Mix the simple syrup, lemon, and bourbon in a tin and shake lightly.
2. Strain the mix into a chilled glass.
3. Top it using sparkling wine.
4. Add the cherry and twist the lemon peel, then pop it in.

How to Make a Smoky Sour Cocktail

Ingredients

• 50 ml The Famous Grouse Smoky Black
• 2 dashes of aromatic bitters
• 5 ml sugar syrup
• 25 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Half an egg white (optional).

Method

1. Add and mix ice plus the ingredients in a shaker.
2. Shake the mix thoroughly for about 10 seconds.
3. Strain into a tumbler.
4. Garnish using a lemon twist.

Your One-Stop Vendor for an Assortment of Popular Whiskeys

Making a whiskey cocktail requires you to be bold about your whiskey choices. The diversity in whiskey flavor profiles, aging processes, and finishing means that no two whiskey brands are alike. Fortunately, with a broad range of options to choose from, you can try out different whiskies and be creative with your whiskey cocktails.

Luckily, at Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville, NJ, we stock all your favorite whiskey brands. Our staff is also ready and willing to answer your questions. Are you looking to try out our whiskey selection from home? We do local deliveries to our clients in Lawrenceville and can ship your wine and spirit selection to New Jersey. Explore our wide selection and get to know our experienced staff. And have fun!