The Gold Rush is Back

Created at famed New York City bar Milk & Honey in the early 2000s, the Gold Rush became a staple of bars worldwide at such a pace that the cocktail is often commonly assumed to have been a pre-Prohibition classic, rather than a modern drink. But its appearance came at a time when new drinks were springing up all over the U.S. inspired by a new generation of craft bartenders experimenting with tweaks to classic cocktails.

Before mixing a Gold Rush cocktail, choose a good quality bourbon which has been aged. You don’t need one that’s too old, as heavy oak can overpower the other ingredients. But a whiskey in the four-to-eight-year range should do nicely.

You’ll find out that the Gold Rush is a well-balanced bourbon lemony cocktail. The honey syrup adds sweetness, but it’s not overtly so. The lemon makes it tart and light. The bourbon gives it just enough kick and a bit of steam.

Here’s a cocktail that’ll knock your socks straight off:

GOLD RUSH

Ingredients:

2 oz. Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon

½ oz. honey

¾ oz. fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Stir ½ oz. honey with ¼ oz. warm water in a measuring glass to loosen. Pour into a cocktail shaker and add 2 oz. bourbon and ¾ oz. fresh lemon juice. Fill shaker with ice, cover, and shake vigorously until outside of shaker is very cold, about 20 seconds.
2. Strain cocktail through a Hawthorne strainer into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice and garnish with a brandied cherry.

Try this one at your next bar stop and impress your friends with key up to the minute knowledge about the modern cocktail. It’s a tipple you will soon add to your wheelhouse. Enjoy!