Recipe: 3-Ingredient Honey-Bourbon Gold Rush

“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’s also 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 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.