4 min readI recently went to the U.S. Open to watch golf in person for the first time. I made two major discoveries over the course of the day. The first was that golf is a much more intimate and interactive experience than I thought it would be. Secondly, after trailing Wyndham Clark between holes under direct midday sunlight and getting caked in sand, I realized that having a cold drink in my hand was essential.
Whiskey is my go-to base spirit most of the time, which sometimes limits me to ordering whiskey sours and Manhattans. But at the U.S. Open, I got hooked on the event’s official cocktail: Dewar’s lemon wedge—perfect for a hot summer day.
“Nobody wants to sip a heavy cocktail … in the June sun. We thought, What would people actually order twice?” Gabe Cardarella, Dewar’s North America brand ambassador, told me.
Cardarella nailed it, because if it had been up to me, I would have carried the cocktail around in a 30-ounce portable tumbler out on the green. The drink harmoniously blends tangy and refreshing lemonade, smooth 12-year-old Scotch, and cooling soda water. I felt refreshed every time I took a sip.
Yes, heat waves are spreading worldwide, but my Dewar’s cocktail proved that I don’t have to sacrifice my favorite brown liquor in this climate. You might think that whisky is more suited to cold weather. That’s such an old-fashioned notion—though we at Esquire would never turn our noses up at an actual old-fashioned. We’ve been enjoying whiskey in espresso martinis, with Aperol, and in tropical cocktails. Whatever flavor you’re looking for—refreshing, bittersweet, rich, decadent; with bourbon, rye, Scotch, or Irish whiskey—we have a recipe on our cocktail roster below.
Dewar’s Lemon Wedge
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Dewar’s 12 Year Old
- 3 oz club soda
- 2 oz lemonade
Directions
Add Dewar’s whisky and lemonade into a highball glass over cubed ice. Top with club soda. Stir gently to mix. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
Bowman Brothers Double Barrel Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Bowman Brothers Virginia Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- 3/4 oz dry vermouth
- 3/4 oz sweet vermouth
- 3/4 oz Bittermens Transatlantic Modern Aromatic Bitters
- 3/4 oz orange bitters
Directions
Pour Bowman Brothers, dry vermouth, and sweet vermouth into a mixing glass. Add 14 drops of Bittermens Modern Aromatic Bitters and 3 dashes of orange bitters into the mixing glass. Add ice into the mixing glass and stir with a long barspoon. Pour the mixture into a chilled stemmed cocktail glass using a cocktail strainer.
Homestead Sour
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
- 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 oz Alpeggio Hay Liqueur
- 1/2 oz honey syrup (2:1 ratio of water to honey)
Directions
Pour the bourbon and liqueur into a mixing glass. Make honey syrup from water and honey in a 2-to-1 mixture. Add fresh squeezed lemon juice and honey syrup to the shaker with the spirits. Shake until frothy and pour into a glass over ice.
Angel’s Envy Peach Smash
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz Angel’s Envy Bourbon Finished in Port Wine Barrels
- 3/4 oz Reál Peach Syrup
- 1/4 oz fresh lemon juice
- 3 oz Fever Tree Sparkling Sicilian Lemonade
Directions
Pour all ingredients into a highball glass filled with ice and stir. Top with Fever Tree Sicilian Lemonade. Garnish with a mint and peach ring and enjoy!
Old-fashioned
Ingredients
• 2 oz rye or bourbon
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 sugar cube
• Club soda
Directions
Place the sugar cube in an old-fashioned glass. Wet it down with Angostura bitters and a short splash of club soda. Crush the sugar with a wooden muddler, then rotate the glass so that the sugar grains and bitters give it a lining. Add a large ice cube. Pour in the whiskey. Garnish with an orange twist and serve with a stirring rod if you’re so inclined.
Manhattan
Ingredients
• 2 oz rye whiskey
• 1 oz Italian vermouth
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Directions
Stir the rye, vermouth, and bitters well with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist and/or a cocktail cherry.
Irish Coffee
Ingredients
• 2 oz Irish whiskey
• 5 oz coffee
• 2 tsp sugar
• Heavy cream
Directions
Pour the whiskey, coffee, and sugar into a stemmed, heated glass mug. Stir, then top off with a thick layer of lightly whipped heavy cream.
Mint Julep
Ingredients
• 3 oz bourbon
• 5 or 6 mint leaves
• 1 tsp sugar for simple syrup
Directions
Place mint leaves in the bottom of a prechilled, dry pewter cup. Add sugar and an equal amount of water to the cup, and crush slightly with a muddler. Pack the glass with finely cracked ice, then pour a generous 3 ounces of Kentucky bourbon over the ice. Stir briskly until the glass frosts. Add more ice and stir again before serving. Stick a few sprigs of mint into the ice to get the aroma.
Paper Plane
Ingredients
• 3/4 oz bourbon
• 3/4 oz Aperol
• 3/4 oz Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
Directions
Shake ingredients well with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Sazerac
Ingredients
• 2 1/2 oz rye whiskey
• 1 sugar cube
• 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• Absinthe
Directions
In an old-fashioned glass, muddle a sugar cube with a few drops of water. Add several small ice cubes, then rye whiskey, Peychaud’s bitters, and Angostura bitters. Stir well. Roll a few drops of absinthe around a second, chilled old-fashioned glass until the inside is thoroughly coated. Pour off the excess. Strain the contents of the first glass into the second. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.
Esquire Campfire Martini
(by Jac’s on Bond)
Ingredients
- 2 oz Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon
- 1 1/2 oz cold-brew concentrate
- 1/2 oz Tempus de Fugit Crème de Banane
- 1/2 oz Borghetti Espresso Coffee Liqueur
- Egg white from one egg
Directions
Add liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Crack the egg and add the whites to the shaker. Dry-shake for 10 seconds to froth up the egg white. Add ice to the shaker and shake again to chill and dilute, then strain into a martini glass. Toast a marshmallow to sit on top as a garnish.
