Blackberry Bourbon Smash (No Simple Syrup)

This blackberry bourbon smash has the fresh herbs of a mojito and the bourbon base of a mint julep. Made from fresh or frozen blackberries muddled with lime, basil, and sugar, this cocktail works for any season — no simple syrup required. With hundreds of 5-star ratings and 8,000+ Pinterest shares, this reader favorite is a refreshing twist on the classic whiskey smash.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Oregon Berries. All opinions are 100% mine.

Muddled Whiskey Smash

Smash? Julep? If you aren’t sure what separates the two, you are in good company. While both cocktails feature bourbon, sugar, and muddled fresh herbs, a mint julep is a simpler drink traditionally made with just mint, sugar, bourbon, and crushed ice. A bourbon smash takes things further by incorporating fruit and/or citrus, giving it a more refreshing and complex flavor.

This blackberry bourbon smash is made with muddled blackberries, lime, basil, bourbon, and sugar. It’s my non-traditional take on a classic whiskey smash — basil instead of mint, lime instead of lemon, and sugar instead of simple syrup for a cocktail that’s faster to make with a stronger flavor profile, too. For the bourbon, a wheated bourbon like Maker’s Mark creates a softer cocktail while a higher-rye bourbon, like Four Roses, adds spice.

Bold, jammy, and herbaceous with an underlying warmth of bourbon spice, one sip of this bourbon smash and you’ll understand all the five-star ratings. The blackberries bring the sweetness, the lime adds a zesty hit, and the basil grounds it all with an herbal complexity that makes this cocktail as fitting for a hot summer afternoon as it is for a holiday evening by the fire. Serve over crushed ice for a julep-style cocktail or cubed ice for a stronger bourbon-forward drink.

Why Frozen Blackberries Work Best (And When Fresh Are Just Fine)

I had the pleasure of collaborating with my friends over at Oregon Blackberries to bring you another blackberry recipe inspired by my favorite homegrown fruit. Like my blackberry gin and tonic, this cocktail can be made with fresh or frozen blackberries. (If fresh berries are your jam, go check out my guide to making summer berries last.)

For this cocktail, I admit that I prefer using frozen blackberries. As the blackberries thaw, they are going to break down much more easily than their fresh counterparts. When you muddle them with the basil, sugar, and lime, they create this sweet, aromatic combination that makes this bourbon smash so unique.

If you already have fresh blackberries on hand, by all means use them! Especially if they are just past their prime and starting to get a bit soft. Otherwise, you may just need a little more effort with the muddler and, if your berries are on the tart side, maybe an extra pinch of sugar.

Recommended Bar Tools

To make this blackberry cocktail at home, you’ll need a couple of special tools: a cocktail shaker, strainer, and muddler. While the strainer style pictured above works fine, these days, I find myself more often reaching for a sieve-style strainer that can better hold the berries. If you make cocktails often, you probably already have these in your collection. You’ll also need a jigger or liquid measuring cup and a glass that will hold around 12 ounces.