Do you love bourbon cocktails? Me too! If bourbon whiskey is your jam, then you’re going to love my latest bourbon cocktail creation, and this time around, I’ve paired bourbon finished in a hickory barrel with Campari. The flavor of this cocktail is unbelievable and so beautifully, intricate and with a hint of charred hickory, it’s all the more reason to say, “Cheers!”

Bourbon Campari Cocktail

I have to admit ya’ll, I’ve got a problem, and it’s a bourbon problem. Nope. I don’t need to attend Alcoholics Anonymous; it’s not that serious. My problem is, I am obsessed with bourbon, and I can’t get enough! From single barrel to high corn, I’m all in!

Recently, my good friend Spencer gifted me with a beautiful bottle of bourbon whiskey finished in hickory barrels distilled by Cleveland Underground and what an excellent play on traditional bourbon. This is a classic sipping bourbon with lots of woody notes with flourishes of spice, tobacco, and toffee. I also think this particular bourbon makes for an ideal bourbon for mixed drinks; I created the Bourbon Campari Cocktail specifically for smokier varieties of bourbon. With a bourbon of this magnitude, you’re going to need a cast of ingredients to stand up and balance out the boldness of the smoky woody notes, and I think I’ve selected wisely.

When you break down a cocktail, it typically contains four base components: booze, water, bitters, and sugar. And, if you’re familiar with Campari, it is an apéritif, and for all intents and purposes, it is commonly known as bitters. Bitters complement a mixed drink by countering whatever sugars are used in a cocktail.

Next, I used orange juice for two purposes, to add a bit of sweetness to the cocktail but the acid found in orange juice cuts through the spiciness of this particular bourbon. Plus, the orange juice adds murkiness to this cocktail, which I absolutely love.

Adding a smidgen of pomegranate molasses adds sweetness, color, and a bit of complexity to this mixed drink, it both elevates and mellows the Campari and the bourbon while adding a nice twist to this cocktails character development.

Some of the best cocktails use three to four ingredients, and this one fits the bill.

The Ingredients You Will Need To Make This Cocktail:

Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Hickory Wood. Bourbon is traditionally aged in new charred oak barrels, but this bourbon is aged in hickory barrels, and it is some kind of beautiful. They are plenty of hickory aged bourbons out there, and I’m just partial to the one made by Cleveland Underground.

Campari. This is essentially an aperitif that falls in the bitters category, and it works beautifully in this cocktail. If you can’t get your hands on Campari, then Aperol is a suitable alternative.

Orange Juice. Sweet, fresh-squeezed orange juice made with the only the best oranges from Valencia is ideal, but whatever you have on hand works too. I used Tropicana, and everything was fine with the world.

Pomegranate Molasses. You can find this fantastic ingredient in your local Middle Eastern food market or do like I did and order from Amazon. If you can’t find pomegranate syrup works well also. But the pomegranate molasses is well worth the expense.

Lemon Peel. Garnish this cocktail with a slice of lemon peel with some of the fruit flesh, not much, just a little it’ll make things a tad more citrusy but only barley.

Ice. The use of ice in a cocktail is essential because it helps with dilution and melds the ingredients together. For this cocktail, I recommend pebble, crushed, or cracked ice, but if ice cubes from your ice tray are what you’re working with, then go for it!

You Will Love This Bourbon Campari Because It’s:

Easy

Unique

Kinda Sweet

Well Balanced

Made With Hickory Aged Bourbon

For my bourbon-loving fans, here are a few more bourbon drinks you may like:

Sparkling Bourbon Cocktail Recipe

Mulberry Bourbon Smash Cocktail

Blackberry Bourbon Tea Cocktail

Strawberry Bourbon Moscow Mule

Cranberry Bourbon Punch

How to make a Bourbon Campari Cocktail

Ingredients:

1 1/5 ounces Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Hickory Wood
2 ounces of orange juice
1/2 ounce pomegranate molasses
3/4 ounce Campari
Lemon peel for garnish
Ice

Directions:

Into a cocktail tin, add Bourbon Whiskey Finished with Hickory Wood, orange juice, pomegranate molasses, Campari, and ice.
Secure the lid on the cocktail tin and shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
Strain into a standard rocks glass filled with ice.
Rim the glass with the lemon peel to express the oil and garnish the drink with a lemon peel
Serve.