With peach season in full swing upon us, bartenders across the country are reaching for this fleshy  coveted farmer’s market staple for its subtle, versatile flavor profile that pairs well with all kinds of spirits – from vodka to bourbon. We have the top 5 cocktails to bring summer closer.

Cocktail: The Pit Stop

Restaurant: The Grocery

Bar Manager: Sean O’Brien

Location: Charleston, SC

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz Peach Pit Infused Bourbon
  • 0.5 Basil and White Pepper Shrub*
  • 0.25 oz lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in shaker. Shake and serve on the rocks, garnished with a basil leaf.

*Basil and White Pepper Shrub, Yields 1 pint (approx.. 32 servings)

Ingredients: 

  • 8 oz of sugar
  • 8 oz of water
  • 2 oz champagne vinegar
  • 1 large sprig of basil
  • 10 white peppercorns

Add all ingredients to pot, bring to a boil until sugar fully dissolves. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 min. Strain. Store in the refrigerator.

Cocktail: Hey Peaches

Restaurant: Succotash

Beverage Director: Darlin Kulla

Location: Washington, D.C.

Ingredients:

  • 18 oz Jim Beam Bourbon  
  • 6oz Blood Peach Puree (can substitute 1 lb peeled peaches or blood peaches if needed)
  • 32 oz Harney’s unsweetened Peach Tea
  • 12 oz simple syrup 
  • 3 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice          

Fill Blender with ice. Add ingredients. Blend on high for 3-4 minutes until creamy consistency has been achieved. Serve in 10oz glasses garnished with a mint sprig and a Peach Gummy. Enjoy with a straw.

Cocktail: Peach Caipirinha

Restaurant: Terra

Bar Manager: Andy Haddock

Location: Columbia, SC

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 oz of Novo Fogo Cachaça
  • 0.75 oz Simple Syrup
  • 1 peach, sliced
  • ½ lime, juiced

In a shaker combine the lime juice, sliced peach and simple syrup. Top with the Novo Fogo Cachaça and add ice (don’t overfill the shaker). Mix together. Serve over crush iced in a tall Collins/ Zombie glass.

Cocktail: The Peaches & Herb

Restaurant: The Franklin

Created by: Matt LoFink, Evan Wolf & Jason Sorbet

Location: New Orleans, LA

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 ounces Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
  • 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • .5 ounce 2:1 Demerara sugar syrup (2 parts Demerara sugar to 1 part water) 
  • .25 ounce Giffard Peche
  • 1 barspoon of Herbsaint
  • Egg white
  • Angostura bitters 

Dry shake the egg white with the lemon juice in a shaker tin for about 5 seconds, add the remainder of the ingredients in the tin and shake with ice. Strain the cocktail into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice and garnish with a spray of angostura bitters.