If like me you’re fretting over how to survive six more weeks of winter, fear not. These winter bourbon cocktail recipes will keep your tastebuds tingling and your body warm and cozy. Let’s get sipping!
Over here on the east coast the mercury reached 70 yesterday. It’s in the 50’s today…and it’s going to snow on Saturday. The groundhog wins again!
The threat of six-ish more weeks of winter – and schizophrenic weather patterns – is precisely why I always have a little bourbon stashed away to enjoy on a snowy day. Ain’t no drinking like bourbon drinking on a chilly, wet, winter evening.
There’s something about a bourbon cocktail that warms me up from the inside out. Gin just doesn’t cut it when snowflakes are falling and a fire is cracking.
Because I’ve grown fond of y’all, I’ve rounded up my favorite bourbon cocktail recipes to win these last few weeks of winter. Sharing is caring!
These tasty bourbon cocktail recipes will heat you up from head to bottom, warm the cockles of your heart, and tantalize your tastebuds. They’re the perfect sweet and savory sips to nurse you through the next few weeks of chilly winter nights.
15 Bourbon Cocktail Recipes to Win Winter
Honey Bourbon Cocktail with Rosemary Simple Syrup
This rosemary bourbon cocktail is the perfect balance of sweet and savory, and one my favorite bourbon cocktail recipes to make for friends at a cozy winter cocktail party.
Crockpot Cranberry Apple Bourbon Punch
There’s nothing better than a hot winter bourbon cocktail on a snowy evening – especially one that can be made in the slow cooker. Set it and forget it for the win! This bourbon punch with cranberries and apples is bright and cheerful, but also warm and soothing.
Classic Old Fashioned
Aaaaah, the Old Fashioned. It’s a classic for a reason, and that’s because this cocktail is the bomb. Slightly fruity, heavily aromatic, and perfect winter bourbon cocktail for showcasing the really good stuff – we like Elijah Craig. It’s the very first bourbon recipe I was taught as a bartender about eleventy billion years ago, and it remains a tried-and-true favorite.
Luscious Bourbon Hot Chocolate
I mean COME ON. Behold this mug of winter bourbon cocktail perfection. Luscious? Hell yes. Dini even makes her French hot chocolate with almond milk, so it’s vegan. So. Much. Winning.
Citrus and Spice Kentucky Mule Cocktail
Warm spices and tart citrus come together for a perfectly seasonal, utterly sippable update to the classic Kentucky Mule. Hand crafted cocktail aficionados and casual drinkers alike will enjoy this refreshing winter bourbon cocktail.
The Staghattan: Black Cherry Manhattan
The Staghattan is my go-to bourbon cocktail recipe. It’s a twist on a classic manhattan made with Jim Beam’s Red Stag, which is a cherry sweetened bourbon. It’s rich and sweet, and can be served straight up or on the rocks. I had one last night will watching the Olympics. Literal winter bourbon perfection.
Sweeney Todd Cocktail
Sweet and smoky, dark and mysterious. Erin’s description for this bourbon cocktail sounds like a heartthrob from an 80’s teen movie…and I love it. As much as I love this decadent, complex cocktail that hits you with a pop of cayenne on the finish.
Apple Cider Hot Toddy
It’s no secret in this house that when flu season hits, I reach for two things – Elderberry syrup and bourbon. The former because it’s a holistic flu-fighting wonder, and the latter because alcohol kills germs. Maybe. Even if it’s efficacy for flu-fighting is debatable, this sweet and tart apple cider cocktail will at the very least warm you soul and delight your palette.
Grapefruit and Thyme Bourbon Smash Cocktail
This beauty is the very best of bright, tart winter grapefruit, balanced by earthy thyme and smokey, spicy bourbon. It’s a gorgeous and refreshing seasonal bourbon cocktail.
The Scofflaw
The name alone hooked me, because I am nothing if I’m not a rebel in the kitchen. Aside from having a dead sexy hue and ingenious name, the Scofflaw is an incredibly easy, approachable, and delightfully sippable winter bourbon cocktail.
Bourbon Pecan Pie Cocktail
A lady walks into a bar and says “Hey, bartender! How do you make PIE better?” And he hands her this drink. Joke crafter I am not, but I sure as heck can spot handcrafted bourbon cocktail perfection, and this drink nails it. Pie in a glass? Yes. Thanks. Bye.
Bourbon Black Forest Cocktail
OMG, another sweet confection in a glass. Cake in a glass. Ahem, black forest cake in a martini glass. Actual black forest cake could not delight me more. Okay, that’s a lie – but it’s definitely a tie between the two.
Smoked Ice Cocktail
Smoked ice?!? Swoon. This is such a clever variation on the classic manhattan bourbon cocktail that, despite the fact it takes some serious forethought, I had to include it.
by Vindulge
The Roast and Toast – A Bourbon and Coffee Cocktail
Coffee…and bourbon…and boozy marshmallows. Do I really need to say more?
Boulevardier Cocktail Recipe
The Boulevardier is basically the bourbon cocktail cousin of the Negroni. It’s rich, complex, and insanely easy to whip up. Marissa is a fan of giant ice cubes to keep her cocktail chilled, but undiluted. Marissa is smart. Be like Marissa.
Nancy Buchanan
Aww… thank you so much for featuring my Citrus and Spice Kentucky Mule! This is a great collection of bourbon cocktails and I’ve added quite a few to my “must make” list!!
Leah
Thanks for sharing our roast and toast! Let’s win winter with these fab cocktails!
Michelle
Bourbon is definitely a good defense against winter! Great list of cocktails here, not sure which one I want to try first!
Thank you for including my Grapefruit and Thyme Bourbon Smash too!