The Gold Rush Cocktail

It doesn’t get much more beautifully uncomplicated than the Gold Rush cocktail. Ever since it was created by T. J Siegal at the original Milk & Honey bar in New York’s Lower East Side (over a decade ago), the Gold Rush has become a sort of a modern classic. It is essentially a whiskey sour, made with honey syrup and without egg whites or bitters. It’s such an easy cocktail to make at only three ingredients and is one of my favorite summer bourbon cocktails!

Gold Rush, serves 1

2 ounces bourbon
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce honey syrup

First, make your honey syrup by heating 1 cup of honey and a 1/3 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until all the ingredients have been integrated. Remove from heat, let cool, then refrigerate. Store in a tightly sealed container for up to a week.

Now it’s time to make the cocktail! Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over ice. Sip and enjoy! This cocktail normally doesn’t require a garnish but I added a lemon wheel purely for aesthetics.

However easy the Gold Rush is to make, it’s essential to use a decent bourbon, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and a quality honey for your honey syrup. The great thing about this drink is instead of shaking it and pouring over ice you can also batch it in pitchers for a party. I would suggest using the same proportions for a single drink and multiplying it by how many guests you’d like to serve. You can keep the undiluted mixture in the fridge for easy pour and shake access.

Another fun thing I like to do is muddle fresh fruit into this drink to change it up depending on the season. The Gold Rush is bright, sweet, and refreshing—which makes it the perfect drink for the very warm end of summer weather we’re having. I hope you’ll try this delicious and easy Gold Rush cocktail at home. Cheers, everyone! xo Natalie

Credits//Author and Photography: Natalie Jacob. Photos edited with A Color Story Desktop.