3-Ingredient Cocktail Recipe of the Summer: The Gold Rush Recipes from The Kitchn

"Faith! It's the cocktail of the summer," said my colleague Janel last week when she was visiting me in Columbus. On our way to dinner we were chatting about our cocktails of choice, and Janel quite handily talked me into trying a Gold Rush for myself. Well, it wasn't that difficult. Do you know this drink? You should.

I was a little dubious about this cocktail at first, because it is really another drink under a new name, served with ice instead of hot. The Gold Rush is the hot toddy's cold summer sibling — bourbon, honey, and lemon juice, shaken and served over ice instead of hot in a mug. I wasn't terribly keen on the idea of drinking my favorite winter cocktail cold. It sounded like it might be cloying — not refreshing, the way a good summer drink should be.

Well, I was wrong. The Gold Rush has several things going for it. It's sweet, tangy, and strong — full-bodied in a way that makes it a satisfying alternative to the crisper gin drinks of summer. It also is easy. Just three ingredients! Honey (thinned and melted in hot water), lemon juice, and bourbon are always in stock in my kitchen. Even better: I find that you can mix all the ingredients for this drink together and keep a batch in a jar in the fridge. Pour over ice and shake hard, then sip over a big block of ice.

Janel gave me one set of proportions for this drink, but different folks tweak it to be sweeter, tangier, or stronger. Hot toddies are a very old bar standard, but it seems like the Gold Rush served in this way, under this name, can be traced back to the New York City bar Milk & Honey, and one recipe is in The PDT Cocktail Book. I found the base recipe I used here:

→ The Gold Rush Cocktail at The Lush Chef

I like mine just a shade sweeter, with a touch more lemon juice, which is reflected in the recipe below. Also, the recipe here makes enough for two drinks. If you just want one, leave the other half in the fridge. You know you'll want it later.

The Gold Rush

makes 2 drinks

3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons boiling water
1/2 cup (4 ounces) bourbon
1 1/2 lemons, juiced, about 4 tablespoons

Pour honey into a small jar or mixing bowl. Pour in the boiling water and whisk vigorously until they form a thin syrup. Whisk in the bourbon and lemon juice. Mixture can be refrigerated until ready to serve.

To serve, shake vigorously with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain over a big ice cube in a rocks glass.

(Images: Faith Durand)

Comments (13)

Best thing for a cold and a sore throat, and definitely better than Nyquil.

This sounds like it has potential for the winter too! My similar summer favorite this year is black cherry bourbon, ginger ale and lots of lemon over ice.

That’s 4 ingredients.

Meh, I get it. Everyone has boiling water.

I was just thinking I had been seeing (and drinking) this cocktail everywhere I went. I had chalked it up to living in KY. I'll definitely be trying this at home.

I agree with Clou, there is nothing like a hot toddy before bed when you have a cold.

So...it's basically a whiskey sour with honey instead of sugar? I could get on board with that.

Sweltering her in Seattle. Just made this. It's like a hot toddy but cold. Excellent

Drank two of these last night. I think it's my new favorite drink!

My summer drink is a dark & stormy. Dark rum, ginger beer, and lime. Proportions are all over the map - so tweak to your own taste. My only issue is with finding ginger beer.

Wow, thanks so much for the shout-out Faith! Really appreciate it. :-) It truly is one of my go-to cocktails, and so easy to whip up at parties.

I'm not much of a bourbon drinker - my go to in the summer is Hendrick's gin with ginger simple syrup, lemon juice, and club soda. But I made this for my fiance after work the other day (with a big ice cube I froze in a Tupperware condiment container) and he loved it. He even got me to try it and it was more refreshing than I imagined. Thanks for the recipe!

This is my better half's favorite drink of all time. But she INSISTS ordering it with "runny honey" and bartenders continually give her this look of "what on earth are you talking about?" But once she's described it they usually figure it out! Delicious delicious drink. I've also made this with Jack Daniels Honey and some sugar for a bastardized version. Was far too sweet but acceptable.