Mountain Man

This post contains affiliate links. See our disclosure policy here.

Get Our Recipes Sent To Your Inbox
Thanks! Keep an eye on your inbox for updates.

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 Premium 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.

Take Our Quiz →

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.

Take Our Quiz →

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.

Sale
The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks with 150 Recipes
The Essential Cocktail Book: A Complete Guide to Modern Drinks with 150 Recipes
Hardcover Book; Editors of PUNCH (Author); English (Publication Language); 352 Pages – 09/05/2017 (Publication Date) – Ten Speed Press (Publisher)
$13.05 Amazon Prime

AuthorThe Essential Cocktail Book

Yields1 ServingPrep Time5 mins

Ingredients
 2 oz Bourbon
 ¾ oz Lemon Juice
 ¼ oz Peach Liqueur
 ¼ oz Maple Syrup
 2 Pieces Candied Ginger

Method
1

Add bourbon, lemon juice, peach liqueur, ginger syrup, maple syrup, and cubed ice to a shaker.

2

Shake for 10-20 seconds.

3

Strain into a lowball glass over fresh cubed ice.

4

Garnish with candied ginger.

Ingredients

Ingredients
 2 oz Bourbon
 ¾ oz Lemon Juice
 ¼ oz Peach Liqueur
 ¼ oz Maple Syrup
 2 Pieces Candied Ginger

Directions

Method
1

Add bourbon, lemon juice, peach liqueur, ginger syrup, maple syrup, and cubed ice to a shaker.

2

Shake for 10-20 seconds.

3

Strain into a lowball glass over fresh cubed ice.

4

Garnish with candied ginger.

Mountain Man

Make It a Mocktail: Use Spiritless Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Whiskey in place of the whiskey and Monin Premium Peach Syrup in place of the peach liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.

Shop Glassware & Tools

Find collections of cocktail glassware and bartending tools we recommend for your home bar in our Amazon shop.

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 Cocktail Recipe

Boo Radley: A bourbon cocktail made with Cynar, cherry liqueur, a lemon peel, and an orange peel

Paper Plane Cocktail Recipe

Paper Plane: A bourbon cocktail made with Aperol, Amaro Nonino Quintessentia, lemon juice, and a lemon peel

Falling Leaves Cocktail Recipe

Falling Leaves: A rye cocktail made with Amaro Montenegro, toasted fig syrup, chocolate bitters, and an orange slice

Brown Derby Cocktail Recipe

Brown Derby: A bourbon cocktail made with grapefruit juice, honey, and a grapefruit twist

This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2024-03-15.

Leave a comment