Peach Whiskey Sour Recipe

If you’re a fan of peach and looking for more ways to incorporate fresh peach into your rotation of homemade cocktails, the peach sour is well worth your time.

It’s a simple and easy recipe that is really nicely balanced.  The sweet peach, tart lemon juice, and whiskey all work together perfectly to create a drink that can be enjoyed by just about anybody.

In particular, this is a great choice for a summer night sipper or to introduce bourbon drinks to those who might not normally enjoy whiskey.

The Two Ways to Go About a Peach Whiskey Sour

So there are really two routes you can go with making this drink.  One is extremely easy and straightforward – perfect for beginners, and produces a perfectly enjoyable drink.

The other route you can go is to really make this a craft style cocktail.  This way of creating your sipper is a little bit more involved, but still not too difficult at all.  Really, the only “involved” step is for you to make your own homemade peach simple syrup – which isn’t hard but just adds a little bit of prep time.

The Easy (and Still Very Tasty) Way

If you’re short on time and want to mix an easy peach sour, the only equipment you’ll need is a cocktail shaker.  Ingredients wise, you’ll need the below ingredients for each drink you make:

• 2 oz bourbon (I like Maker’s Mark for this recipe)
• 1.5 oz peach schnapps
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 0.5 oz simple syrup
• Peach slice, to garnish
• Maraschino cherry, to garnish

All you have to do is combine all of the ingredients in a shaker.  Add a few cubes of ice and shake for about 10-15 seconds.  Then strain the mixture in an old fashioned glass and garnish with a peach slice and cherry.  You can also serve the drink with an ice cube in the glass if desired.

If You Want to Get More Involved

For those who like to put a little more tender love and care into their drinks, here’s how you can elevate your peach sour recipe.

The key to this is making a homemade peach simple syrup that’s going to flavor and sweeten our cocktail beautifully.  To make it you’ll need:

• 2 peaches, fresh and ripe
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

Peel, pit and slice peaches and place them into a small sauce pan.  Then add the water and sugar and stir.  From there, heat the sauce pan over medium heat and bring just to a boil.  Stir and mash the peaches a little bit as the saucepan comes up to temperature.

Once a boil is reached, reduce heat to a simmer and cover for about 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, remove saucepan from heat and cover – allow to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Once cool, strain the mixture into a container – you can save any leftover peach simple syrup for about 10 days if it’s in a refrigerated airtight container!

On to the cocktail.  For each peach whiskey sour (see also: Best Bourbons For Whiskey Sour)you’ll need:

• 2 oz bourbon (I like Maker’s Mark for this recipe)
• 1.5 oz homemade peach simple syrup
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• Peach slice, to garnish
• Maraschino cherry, to garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker.  Add a few cubes of ice and shake for about 15 seconds until it’s nice and cold.  Then strain the mixture in an old fashioned glass and garnish with a peach slice and cherry.

Choosing the Best Bourbon for Peach Whiskey Sour

Personally, I think that any time you’re going with a bourbon cocktail that involves significant amounts of sweet or sour ingredients, I tend to stick with cheaper bourbon options.

It’s not that a finer whiskey wouldn’t elevate the drink per se, it’s just I’m not sure it’s going to make enough of a difference with this drink.  Plus, I prefer to enjoy the higher end stuff on the rocks or neat as opposed to mixing with lots of other ingredients.

With the peach sour, all you really need the whiskey to do is add some of that signature smoky and woody flavor to your drink.

So with that in mind, I like to keep things cheaper and go with Maker’s Mark.  I know plenty of folks who would opt for Jim Beam, Wild Turkey, (see also: Wild Turkey Longbranch Review)Buffalo Trace, etc. instead.  Go with what you like!

This recipe is a perfect post dinner sipper for those evenings when I want to enjoy the outdoors with something cool and balanced.  The peach flavor profile is a welcome change up from the typical cocktail rotation.  If you make this one at home, you may even find your non whiskey drinkers enjoying this one!