SMOKED PEACH MAPLE BOURBON SMASH

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Craft cocktail lovers, I’m back today with fall’s first libation in celebration of Autumn Equinox! If you frequent my FOOD or COCKTAIL sections, you’ll know that my most inspired creations are born out of making use of what we have on hand to yield unexpected combinations — and that’s exactly how this recipe came together. Late August is when our annual case of Okanagan peaches arrives and every year I end up going into peach recipe overdrive, while simultaneously eating my body weight in peaches. I’ve explored peaches in smoothies, sangrias and crumbles (that recipe will have to wait until next summer), but this year I had an itch to experiment with my favourite summer stone fruit in a proper cocktail. We’d been grilling up a storm for dinner one Friday evening and Adam had some delicious Smoked Maple Bourbon kicking around — and voila, my Smoked Peach Maple Bourbon Smash came to life right there on our patio!

This summer-meets-autumn sip juxtaposes the essence of juicy late summer fruit with a smoky grilled edge, infused with spicy autumnal warmth to create the ultimate transitional cocktail that’s equal parts sweet ‘n spicy. If you still haven’t had your fill of late summer peaches, get your grill on and imbibe this simple but sassy cocktail sure to impress both bourbon lovers and bourbon skeptics (believe it or not, I was the latter prior to this cocktail!). As always, my Smoked Peach Maple Bourbon Smash is free of dairy, gluten and refined sugar — and brimming with better-for-you ingredients, because I believe in balance in all areas of life. Grilled Okanagan peaches, Smoked Maple Bourbon, 100% pure Canadian maple syrup, fresh thyme, spicy ginger beer, fresh lemon juice, a splash of soda water and a dash of bitters are shaken to perfection and served over ice in this quintessentially September libation!

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SMOKED PEACH MAPLE BOURBON SMASH

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In contrast to my last cocktail recipe that was beautifully feminine (it’s inspired by my Grandmother and was on my Mother’s Day brunch menu this year!), this recipe definitely has a bit of a masculine edge. If you told me a year ago I would be publishing a barbecued bourbon cocktail I would have never believed you (although bourbon did sneak in to my last baking recipe, too!). I guess that’s bound to happen when you live with a bourbon lover!

I mentioned in my last FASHION post dedicated to Polka Dots (a print I initially didn’t think was for me!) that it’s so interesting how your tastes change and evolve over time. Lately I’m finding that to be true in every aspect of my life — it’s been a very experimental time for me and I’m feeling more inspired than ever (get ready for tons of fresh content coming your way!). Over all my years of recipe development and food blogging since starting JustineCelina, my palette has definitely changed as well. And I’m embracing it!

If you follow along with my COCKTAIL recipes, you’ll know I tend to favour clear spirits and clean, botanical, floral flavour profiles. I don’t love overly sweet drinks of any kind, but adore fruit-forward libations. And I tend to prefer my wines dry, crisp, fruity and earthy.

But you see, my partner has a fairly opposite palette to mine, alcohol wise. He loves scotches, bourbons, dark rums and deep, full-bodied red wine! We can meet in the middle on a lot of wines, but he prefers the classics when it comes to spirits. He adores Knob Creek bourbon, but wanted to experiment — so he picked up their Smoked Maple Bourbon Whisky, but found it much too sweet to sip over ice (his preferred method). But as soon as I tasted it, I knew it would make a fantastic mixer in the right cocktail — mitigating the need for additional sweeteners.

It turns out my instincts were right, because it’s absolutely out-of-this-world combined with grilled peaches in my Smoked Peach Maple Bourbon Smash — lending just the right amount of smoke and warmth to this summer-meets-autumn sip. If you’re feeling inspired to experiment with the last of our late summer peaches, fire up the grill, grab a your ingredients and let’s shake and strain up some cozy, seasonal flavour!

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Ingredients

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SMOKED PEACH MAPLE BOURBON SMASH

Serves 1

• 1 peach
• 1 tsp 100% pure Canadian maple syrup
• 2 oz Smoked Maple Bourbon Whisky (I used Knob Creek)
• 3 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 2 oz non-alcoholic spicy ginger beer (I used The Great Jamaican) 
• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz soda water

OPTIONAL GARNISH

• Grilled peach slices
• Sprig of fresh thyme
• Edible flowers

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Instructions

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1. Start by firing up your grill and setting it to high heat. Grilling the peaches not only leaves delicious grill marks and a beautiful char on the fruit, it softens the peaches perfectly so they’re able to break down in the cocktail shaker. That said, if you don’t have access to a grill, set your oven to broil.

2. While the grill / oven comes up to temperature, wash and halve a fresh peach, removing the pit. Coat fresh with a thin layer of 100% pure Canadian maple syrup and set aside.

3. Add peach halves to a clean, hot, freshly oiled (I find Canola Oil works best) grill. Allow to cook for 5 minutes, or until a light char appears on fruit. If you’re broiling, broil fruit for 2 minutes or until maple syrup starts to bubble and caramelize.

4. Remove peach halves from grill (or oven) and turn grill (or oven) off. Set aside to cool while you prepare the cocktail shaker.

5. Build your Smoked Peach Maple Bourbon Smash in a cocktail shaker by adding 8 ice cubes along with a grilled peach halve, sprig of fresh thyme, bitters and bourbon. Shake vicariously, until cocktail shaker becomes cold and the peach is throughly broken down.

7. Add 5 – 6 fresh ice cubes to a cocktail glass. Strain shaker contents overtop. It will take some effort to get most of the peach flesh out of the strainer, so keep shaking until your cocktail glass is more than half full (if your hand gets too cold, wrap a kitchen towel around the shaker!).

8. Top with dry ginger beer, fresh lemon juice and soda water. Stir to combine.

9. Garnish your Smoked Peach Maple Bourbon Smash with a grilled peach segment, a sprig of fresh thyme and / or edible flowers.

10. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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MORE SEASONAL COCKTAILS & SANGRIAS

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Late Harvest Spiced Apple Sangria

Rose Infused Cherry Gin Fizz

Raspberry Rhubarb Rosé Spritz

Rosé Lychee Elderflower Sangria

Red Wine Caesars

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Have I inspired you to experiment with bourbon? Even if you tend to prefer clear spirits like I do, if you’ve been a fan of my COCKTAILS in the past, I hope you give my Smoked Peach Maple Bourbon Smash a try! The bourbon enhances the peach flavours beautifully and the spicy ginger beer really infuses the perfect autumnal warmth. It’s like fall is wrapping it’s arms around you! 

Did you try my Smoked Peach Maple Bourbon Smash? I love it when you tag me in your recreations so I can see what you’re whipping up at home! Please leave me a comment below, or tag me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook (use the hashtag #justinecelinacocktails in your recreations on social!). I also have a Pinterest board for my recipes and a newer board exclusively for my cocktails if you’re looking for more better-for-you cocktail options with clean ingredients. Cheers, friends!

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Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored, and contains my genuine thoughts, ideas and recommendations. JustineCelina uses affiliate and referral links, which allow me to receive a small commission when you make a purchase through one of my links. Thank you for supporting the brands and businesses that support JustineCelina!