Name: Thunderer (Ginger Honey Árbol Bourbon Cocktail)
Yield: Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients: ¾ cup orange blossom honey; ¼ cup boiling water; 2 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (about ½ cup); ½-inch piece chile de árbol, plus more to taste; 1½ ounces bourbon; 1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice (about ¼ grapefruit, preferably Ruby Red); ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice (less than 1 lemon); ½ ounce Honey Árbol Ginger Syrup

Photo of spicy bourbon cocktail from Christiaan Röllich.

Photo by Ed Anderson

This easy-to-make cocktail was one of the earlier drinks I created for the bar menu at our Brentwood restaurant, Tavern. It is made with a honey syrup infused with fresh ginger and chiles de árbol, so you get those flavors and that heat in the cocktail. I added grapefruit to make it tangy.

Recipe information

Yield
Makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients

Honey Árbol Ginger Syrup:

¾ cup orange blossom honey

¼ cup boiling water

2 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (about ½ cup)

½-inch piece chile de árbol, plus more to taste

For the Cocktail:

1½ ounces bourbon

1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice (about ¼ grapefruit, preferably Ruby Red)

¾ ounce fresh lemon juice (less than 1 lemon)

½ ounce Honey Árbol Ginger Syrup

Preparation

Step 1
To make the Honey Árbol Ginger Syrup: Put the honey and water in a blender and stir until the honey dissolves. Add the ginger and chile and blend on high speed until the ginger is pulverized. Strain through a chinois or cheesecloth and discard the solids. Let the syrup cool to room temperature. Transfer to a small jar or bottle and refrigerate for up to 1 month.
Step 2
To make the cocktail: Combine the cocktail ingredients in a shaker. Fill the shaker with ice cubes, cover, and shake hard for 7 seconds. Use a Hawthorne strainer to strain the cocktail into a coupe glass. Garnish with the chile de árbol slices.

bar chef cover showing bartender making drinks

From Bar Chef: Handcrafted Cocktails by Christiaan Röllich, copyright © 2019. Photography by Ed Anderson. Published by W. W. Norton & Company. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.