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Cocktail History
The Mountain Man is an autumn cocktail that was created by Natasha David at Nitecap in New York City, New York. It’s a variation of the classic Penicillin that calls for a similar template of whiskey, lemon, and ginger, but this one uses maple syrup in place of simple syrup and adds a bit of peach liqueur for an extra kick of flavor.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Bourbon: This is a type of whiskey made in the United States with at least 51% corn, grains, malted barley, and water. We used Buffalo Trace Distillery Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey because it has a delicious whiskey spice with notes of orange peel, herbs, honey, leather, and oak. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Spiritless Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Whiskey in place of the whiskey.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Peach Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with peaches, spices, sugar, and alcohol. We used Maison Ferrand Mathilde Pêche Liqueur because it has a rich fruit flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Monin Non-Alcoholic Peach Syrup in place of the peach liqueur.
Ginger Syrup: This is a sweetener made with ginger, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.
Maple Syrup: This is a syrup made with the sap from maple trees. We used a local maple syrup.
Candied Ginger: This is a slice of dried ginger root that has been rolled in sugar.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. We used Bamboo Cocktail Picks.
Tasting Notes
The Mountain Man begins with aromas of peach and ginger followed by a citrus-forward taste that’s accented by both peach sweetness and ginger burn, all with the distinctive mouthfeel of maple syrup. The backbone of bourbon also supports these flavors with a slight but not overwhelming spice and oakiness.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: We both absolutely loved this drink. Just a few sips landed it near the top of our list of new favorites for autumn.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This Penicillin riff hits all of the autumnal boxes with maple syrup, peach, and a slight ginger burn. While ginger is the outlier here, the mixture works so well, making this not only an extremely palatable and cozy drink but also one with enough different flavors to be able to contemplate. Overall, I thought this drink was fantastic, and I’d probably make it in place of a standard whiskey sour any month of the year. A few drops of bitters probably wouldn’t hurt the mixture, just to add some allspice flavor for some additional seasonality.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This is such an interesting fall cocktail! The most prominent flavor to me was peach, which was unexpected. When reading the list of ingredients, I expected it to be whiskey. Add in the peach flavors paired with maple syrup and bourbon, and this becomes a great drink when you want fall flavors that aren’t just pumpkin spice or a simple Old Fashioned.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks by the editors of PUNCH and Megan Krigbaum.
Add bourbon, lemon juice, peach liqueur, ginger syrup, maple syrup, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a lowball glass over fresh cubed ice.
Garnish with candied ginger.
Ingredients
Directions
Add bourbon, lemon juice, peach liqueur, ginger syrup, maple syrup, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a lowball glass over fresh cubed ice.
Garnish with candied ginger.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Spiritless Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Whiskey in place of the whiskey and Monin Non-Alcoholic Peach Syrup in place of the peach liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Bourbon Cocktails
If you like this bourbon-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Boo Radley: A bourbon cocktail made with Cynar, cherry liqueur, a lemon peel, and an orange peel
Paper Plane: A bourbon cocktail made with Aperol, Amaro Nonino Quintessentia, lemon juice, and a lemon peel
Falling Leaves: A rye cocktail made with Amaro Montenegro, toasted fig syrup, chocolate bitters, and an orange slice
Brown Derby: A bourbon cocktail made with grapefruit juice, honey, and a grapefruit twist
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