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Cocktail History
The Mystical One is a modern cocktail that was created by Natasha David at Nitecap in New York City, New York. Despite its cryptic name, the recipe is essentially a Whiskey Sour riff that uses the classic’s whiskey, lemon, sugar syrup, and egg white template, but this version combines sage’s woodsy flavors with a slight cinnamon spice. David’s original specifications called for lime juice instead of lemon, but the recipe below uses sweet lemon to make it more palatable.
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 Benchmark Bourbon because it has a delicious whiskey spice with notes of caramel, stone fruit, tobacco, oak, and cherries. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Spiritless Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Whiskey in place of the whiskey.
Cinnamon Syrup: This is a sweetener made with cinnamon sticks, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, saline solution, and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Egg White: This is the clear liquid in an egg. We used fresh egg whites because they add a rich, silky smooth texture.
Sage Leaves: This an evergreen herb. We used fresh sage leaves.
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.
Muddler: This is used to muddle ingredients. We used the HQY Stainless Steel Cocktail Muddler.
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.
Tasting Notes
The Mystical One features cool aromas of sage and bourbon’s sweet spice with a well-balanced flavor that combines bourbon, tart citrus, and a cinnamon zing, all with an herbal aftertaste that leaves the shaken-in sage and the cinnamon’s lingering spiciness on the tongue.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: After making a couple of changes to the specs including upping the amount of cinnamon syrup a bit, we both really enjoyed this version of The Mystical One and would make it again whenever we’re itching for a light and citrusy yet herbal spiced drink.
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: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Bourbon and lime, which is what the original recipe uses, are a tough mix, and the amount of syrup the recipe called for certainly wasn’t enough to balance the citrus, so we tweaked the specifications and ended up with a great drink! This version combines a Whiskey Sour format with cinnamon flavoring, all shaken with sage, and the result is a slightly herbal flavor with a hint of cinnamon spice, making for a tasty alternative to the classic.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐
“I agreed with Alex when we made this cocktail. The original specifications just didn’t taste quite right; the lime was much too sour and overpowered the other ingredients. Swapping out the lime for lemon did the trick though. It made it much more balanced and helped the sage to shine, which I already love in cocktails. Egg white aside, I would definitely drink The Mystical One again.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Winter Drinks: 70 Essential Cold-Weather Cocktails by the editors of PUNCH.
Add cinnamon syrup and three sage leaves to a shaker.
Muddle gently for 5-7 seconds.
Add bourbon, lemon juice, egg white, and cubed ice to shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Remove ice from shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with remaining sage leaf.
Ingredients
Directions
Add cinnamon syrup and three sage leaves to a shaker.
Muddle gently for 5-7 seconds.
Add bourbon, lemon juice, egg white, and cubed ice to shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Remove ice from shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with remaining sage leaf.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Spiritless Kentucky 74 Non-Alcoholic Bourbon Whiskey in place of the whiskey 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:
Weathered Axe: A bourbon cocktail made with lemon juice, Combier L’Original Liqueur d’Orange, Cocchi Americano, ginger syrup, absinthe, and rosemary
Mountain Man: A bourbon cocktail made with lemon juice, peach liqueur, ginger syrup, maple syrup, and candied ginger
Boo Radley: A bourbon cocktail made with Cynar, cherry liqueur, a lemon peel, and an orange peel
Stone Fence: A bourbon cocktail made with apple cider, Angostura Aromatic bitters, and mint
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