5 Best Summer Bourbon Cocktails

You may be under the misapprehension that bourbon's best for the wintertime. If so, it's time to update your drinks lists. Here are 5 tasty, refreshing cocktails that use our old friend bourbon as a base. They'll make that next BBQ a hit.

• The LiberTea

  

  Makes 1 large pitcher 4 cups water
  4 cups lemonade
  4 black tea bags
  1 cup fresh basil leaves
  ½ cup Wild Turkey Bourbon
  1 ½ cups American Honey In a large saucepan, boil 2 cups water. Remove from heat; add 4 teabags of black
  tea. Steep 8 minutes; discard teabags. Add 2 cups cold water and lemonade; transfer
  to pitcher and chill. Add fresh basil leaves. Using a wooden spoon, crush basil until
  fragrant. Stir in Wild Turkey Bourbon and American Honey. Serve over ice.

• Patriot Tea

  

  Makes 1 pitcher 4 cups water
  ½ cup sugar
  8 black tea bags
  1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
  ½ cup fresh mint leaves
  2 cups American Honey In a large saucepan, boil 4 cups water. Add 1/2 cup sugar; stir to dissolve. Remove from
  heat; add 8 teabags of black tea. Steep 10 minutes; discard teabags. Add 4 cups cold
  water; transfer to pitcher and chill. Mash or muddle lemon wedges and add to pitcher.
  Add 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves. Using a wooden spoon, crush mint until fragrant. Stir in 2
  cups of American Honey. Serve over ice.

• Kentucky Buck

  

  1 ounce lemon juice
  1 strawberry
  2 ounces Wild Turkey Bourbon
  Angostura bitters
  ½ ounce simple syrup
  Ginger beer Muddle strawberry with lemon juice. Add Wild Turkey, simple syrup and 2 dashes of bitters and shake with ice. Strain over ice and fill with ginger beer. Picture source: Caroline on Crack's Flickr feed

• The 56 Julep

  

  2 ½ oz. Wild Turkey 101
  3 sprigs of mint (six to eight mature-sized leaves)
  1 ½ teaspoons brown sugar
  ½ cup crushed ice In a traditional silver julep cup or double-old fashioned glass, muddle two sprigs of mint
  with the brown sugar and one ounce of Wild Turkey 101 for a few minutes, crushing the
  mint leaves with a spoon. Add the crushed ice, the remaining bourbon, and garnish with
  sprig of mint. Enjoy!

• The Manhattan 101

  

  1 3/4 ounces Wild Turkey Bourbon
  1/3 ounce dry vermouth
  1/3 ounce sweet vermouth
  1 thin slice fresh ginger
  3 mint leaves
  1/2 tsp powdered sugar
  Dash aromatic bitters
   
  Muddle ginger, mint, powdered sugar and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add Wild
  Turkey Bourbon, vermouth and ice. Shake and strain into a chilled glass.