American whiskey cocktails for summer

Find top recipes for American whiskey cocktails for summer here. Click the links on the product names to purchase. 

London’s famous Connaught Bar at the historic Connaught Hotel is serving up a limited edition cocktail that’s ideal for summer sipping, and we were invited to give it a try! (Don’t worry, we got the recipe too.)

Developed by head bartender Agostino Perrone, the Silver Seventeen is built around a base of the limited-edition Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old, with silver needle tea and clarified ginger syrup that’s made in-house, cherry soda, and one of the most impressively large chunks of ice we’ve ever seen in a glass. 

It’s a tall, refreshing serve, like a hybrid between a Highball and a Spritz, which goes to show it’s not all about rum when you’re after something to sip in the sun, and it’s not all about Old Fashioneds when drinking American whiskey.

Tasting the Silver Seventeen at the Connaught Bar

At £40 a pop, this isn’t an everyday cocktail, but then, how many bars will you find in London pouring Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old? Let alone putting it in a cocktail. For a special occasion, you get to put your glad rags on, sip slowly (because as we said, giant ice cube… and £40) and watch the Connaught’s Martini maestros at work, wheeling around their special bar cart and serving customers at the table with superb pomp and flair.

It comes served in a big, tall glass with a long stem, elegant, yet sturdy enough for its custom-cut block of ice. With a cherry red hue, complemented by a purple shiso leaf for garnish, it certainly looks different to the whiskey cocktails I tend to order. 

Dr. Pepper, Haribo, and giving rum

When I read the mention of cherry before our visit, I did have a slight fear in the back of my mind that it might have notes of Dr. Pepper, but I was pleased to say it was far more clever and refined than that. It’s refreshing and light, like a fruity Highball, the whiskey’s flavour shining through, without overpowering the rest of it. 

Delicate cherry and subtle ginger came first, and over time (because you don’t have to rush this, like a cocktail with puny normal ice cubes that’ll melt and dilute it), woody notes of oak and earthy tea developed. 

As the drink got shorter, I picked up a hint of sweet cherry Haribo, which sounds like it might be unpleasant, but I specifically jotted down “but not in an unpleasant way because there’s whiskey too”, which I think clears that up. 

Overall, a summery serve that goes down very easily, and with the fruity sweetness that I’d more commonly expect in a rum serve.

Make your own Silver Seventeen cocktail – here’s the recipe

If you were wise enough to pick up a bottle of Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old before it flew off our shelves earlier this year, then here’s your chance to crack it out! If you weren’t so lucky, then this Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel (exclusive to us at Master of Malt!) will make a worthy substitute.

Ingredients:

35ml Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old (or alternative from range)

45ml Silver needle tea and clarified ginger syrup*

10ml Lemon juice

30ml Cherry soda

Method:

Stir all ingredients except the cherry soda over ice, pour into a spritz glass over an ice chunk and top with cherry soda. Garnish with purple shiso leaf.

*Silver needle tea is a rare loose-leaf white tea, and The Connaught makes this syrup in-house. Try adding a twist to your own simple syrup using a classic ratio of 2:1 parts sugar to water dissolved, and gently infused with white and ginger tea bags.

More American whiskey cocktails for summer

Why stop there? It’s the perfect time of year for laid-back sipping, so we’ve gathered some more refreshing recipes right here. The theme is American whiskey, but there’s a wild card, too.

The Peach Smash from Buffalo Trace

Ingredients:

40ml Buffalo Trace

20ml Crème De Peche

50ml Peach juice

10ml Sugar syrup

10ml Lemon juice

75ml Peach soda

Method:

Build over cubed ice in a Highball glass, garnish with a peach slice fan.

Kentucky Calling from Never Say Die

Ingredients:

40ml Never Say Die Small Batch Bourbon

20ml Fino Sherry

20ml Lemon juice

15ml Sugar syrup

2 dashes of range bitters

Soda water

Method:

Add all ingredients to a Highball glass and fill with cubed ice. Top with soda water and give a quick stir to mix. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Hard Lemonade from London’s Doghouse Distillery

This one’s the wildcard, because it’s made in the UK, not the US! Read all about the Doghouse distillery here.

Ingredients:

50ml Debt Collector Moonshine (Cask Aged 1 Year)

3x Fresh strawberries

75-100ml Cloudy lemonade

Method:

Muddle strawberries in a Highball glass, add moonshine, fill glass with ice and stir. Top with cloudy lemonade and stir again, using a long bar spoon to churn up the ingredients. Garnish with a slice of lemon or half a strawberry.

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