Guest Cocktails
I'm proud to be a member of the community of bourbon enthusiasts who love creating new bourbon drinks—a community that includes distillers, restaurateurs, other bartenders, and Jack's customers. Here I've invited several of my friends to submit their recipes for bourbon cocktails in hopes they'll inspire you to create your own.
JOANNA GOLDSTEIN'S BOURBON SIDECAR 
Susan: Joanna and I go to dinner at Jack's every Tuesday night after the rehearsal of the Indiana University Southeast Orchestra. (Joanna is the conductor and I play trumpet.) She'd tried a bourbon version of the classic cognac sidecar made by a colleague and asked Joy to make one for her. The following drink was the delicious result.
2½ ounces Old Forester
½ounce triple sec
splash of sweet and sour mix
squeeze of lemon
Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled Martini glass with a sugared rim. Garnish with a slice of orange.
NANCY SHEPHERD'S BOURBON COCKTAIL
I've been making this drink for Nancy (owner of Louisville's Café Metro and Uptown Café) for twenty years. Nancy told me that one night two priests from Columbus, Indiana, came into Café Metro and ordered a bourbon cocktail. They said this was how it was made. Nancy's been drinking it ever since.
2 ounces Kentucky bourbon
¼ ounce triple sec
¼ ounce Benedictine
large lemon wedge
Shake the liquid ingredients over ice. Squeeze and drop in the lemon wedge. Strain into a chilled Martini glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
PROOF'S SIGNATURE DARKENED MANHATTAN
Proof is the bourbon-centric restaurant and bar located in Louisville's 21C Hotel. This cocktail is the creation of Michael Bonadies, president and CEO of the hotel.
1½ ounces Woodford Reserve bourbon
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Starbucks coffee liqueur
Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.
This recipe comes from Tim Laird, CEO (Chief Entertaining Officer) of Louisville distiller Brown-Forman. Tim travels all over the country to promote Woodford Reserve and give workshops on home entertaining. He has never met a stranger.
1½ ounces Woodford Reserve bourbon
1¾ ounces simple syrup
1 ounce fresh lime juice
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
club soda
In a shaker glass with ice, combine Woodford Reserve, simple syrup, lime juice, and ground ginger. Shake and strain into a tall glass with ice. Top with club soda. Garnish with slices of fresh ginger root.
BOURBON BLACKBERRY SMASH 
Another from Tim Laird.
6 fresh blackberries
leaves of one fresh sprig of rosemary
¾ ounce simple syrup
1½ ounces Woodford Reserve bourbon
2 ounces ginger ale
Muddle 5 of the blackberries and the rosemary leaves in a mixing glass. Add simple syrup and Woodford Reserve. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass. Top with ginger ale and garnish with the remaining blackberry.
BILL SAMUELS’ NO NAME YET (But So Good!) COCKTAIL
Bill Samuels Jr. is the president of Maker's Mark, the classic wheated bourbon with the trademark bottle dipped in red wax. His family has been distilling distinctive bourbons for generations.
1¼ ounces Maker's Mark bourbon
½ ounce honey syrup (equal parts honey and water)
fresh grapefruit juice
sprig of fresh mint
Into an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice, pour the Maker's Mark and honey syrup. Fill with grapefruit juice and garnish with the mint (optional).
PRESTON VAN WINKLE'S OLD FASHIONED
Preston Van Winkle, great-grandson of Pappy Van Winkle, is famous for his Old Fashioneds and kindly provided this recipe, as well as the one for his fruity Bourbon Berry.
1½ ounces Van Winkle 15-year-old bourbon
1 orange slice
2 brown sugar cubes soaked in orange bitters and Angostura bitters
Muddle the orange slice and sugar cubes in the bottom of the glass. Stir gently while slowly adding bourbon and ice. Garnish with a twist of orange and a fresh cherry.
BOURBON BERRY
1½ ounces Van Winkle 10-year-old bourbon
3 teaspoons honey-water (made by adding one splash of water to 2 teaspoons honey)
¾ ounce blackberry puree
¾ ounce green apple puree
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon crème de myrtille (blueberry) liqueur
Shake and strain all ingredients except the blueberry liqueur into the glass over crushed ice. Float the liqueur on top of the drink.
SEELBACH COCKTAIL 
This cocktail was created at Louisville's Seelbach Hotel, circa 1917, but the recipe was lost, probably during Prohibition, and the drink didn't see the light of day again until 1995, when a hotel manager rediscovered the formula. It's an unusual drink, as it calls for two brands of bitters, Angostura and Peychaud's. Current Seelbach manager Mark Butcher provided the recipe.
1½ ounces bourbon
1½ ounces Cointreau
7 dashes Angostura bitters
7 dashes Peychaud's bitters
4 ounces chilled brut champagne
Pour all ingredients, in the order listed, into a champagne flute. Add an orange twist as garnish.
Many thanks to Angela H. Traver of Buffalo Trace Distillery for this and the following refreshing bourbon cocktails.
Two parts Buffalo Trace bourbon
1 part praline liqueur
1 part DeKuyper Apple Pucker schnapps
Shake all ingredients over ice and serve in a chilled Martini glass. Garnish with a slice of green apple.
KENTUCKY MIMOSA
¾ ounce Buffalo Trace bourbon
1 ounce sparkling apple cider
ginger ale
Add the ingredients to the glass in the order listed, and serve.
The busy bees at Jim Beam Distillery, who make a multitude of bourbon brands, sent us several cocktail recipes. We especially enjoyed this one and the three that follow.
1½ ounces Jim Beam White Label bourbon
¾ ounce DeKuyper triple sec
2 ounces fresh sweet and sour mix
1 heaping bar spoon (about 1 teaspoon) of orange marmalade
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with an orange slice on the rim.
LEGAL AIDE
1½ ounces Knob Creek bourbon
¾ ounce DeKuyper Peachtree schnapps
1 ounce fresh sweet and sour mix
1 ounce guava puree
¼ ounce grenadine
Shake all ingredients with ice until well blended. Strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a flamed orange peel.
1½ ounces Basil Hayden bourbon
¾ ounce limoncello
2 ounces fresh sweet and sour mix
5–6 fresh spearmint leaves
Shake all ingredients with ice until well blended. Strain into a chilled glass with a sugared rim (optional). Garnish with a lemon wheel. The little pieces of mint that will be floating around in the cocktail are little bursts of flavor; it's considered good luck if you get one.
THE FIG THING
1½ ounces Jim Beam Black Label
½ ounce Harvey's Bristol Cream
1½ ounces fresh sweet and sour mix
1 ounce apple juice
1 mission fig marinated in bourbon
½ ounce egg white
In a mixing glass, muddle the fig, add the remaining ingredients, and shake vigorously with ice. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with fresh ground nutmeg.
ROSÉ RITA
The architecture of the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceberg, Kentucky, is Spanish Mission, so it's fitting to include a bourbon-based twist on a favorite South-of-the-Border drink.
2 ounces Margarita mix
1 ounce Four Roses bourbon
dash of grenadine
Add the mix to the bourbon and shake over ice. Pour into a chilled glass. Add a dash of grenadine, but do not mix. The red of the grenadine will settle near the bottom of the glass for a nice multicolor effect. Garnish with two maraschino cherries.