Bourbon Buck
Bourbon, lemon and ginger ale over ice. The nineteenth-century buck with bourbon — a Whiskey Ginger with the lemon that makes it a cocktail, and the plain parent of the Kentucky Buck.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Fill a collins glass with ice.
Add the bourbon, lemon juice and bitters (if using).
Top with chilled ginger ale.
Stir once from the bottom and garnish with a lemon wedge.
A thoughtful finish
- A dry ginger ale; a sweet one needs more lemon.
- Ginger beer makes it a Kentucky Mule's cousin — spicier.
- The dash of bitters is worth it.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the lemon, which makes it a Whiskey Ginger.
- Flat ginger ale.
- Too little ice.
A few good questions.
What does a Bourbon Buck taste like?
Bourbon and ginger ale with lemon's lift — a Whiskey Ginger that tastes like a cocktail.
Buck or mule?
A buck uses ginger ale (or sometimes beer) with citrus; a mule uses ginger beer and lime.
How is it different from a Kentucky Buck?
The Kentucky Buck adds muddled strawberry and bitters and uses ginger beer.
Lemon or lime?
Lemon for a buck; lime turns it toward a mule.
Variations
- Kentucky Buck — Bourbon, strawberry, lemon, bitters and ginger beer.
- Gin Buck — Gin, lemon and ginger ale.
- Whiskey Ginger — Bourbon and ginger ale.
- Kentucky Mule — Bourbon, lime and ginger beer.
Where it comes from
c. 1890s · United States
A buck is a spirit with citrus juice and ginger ale, a form that dates to the 1890s when bottled ginger ale became common; the Gin Buck was the famous one and every spirit got its own. The Bourbon Buck is the Whiskey Ginger with half an ounce of lemon squeezed in, which sounds like nothing and changes everything: the acid cuts the ginger ale’s sugar and lifts the bourbon. It is the plain version of Erick Castro’s Kentucky Buck, which adds strawberry and bitters, and the ginger-ale cousin of the ginger-beer Kentucky Mule. A dash of Angostura is traditional in some books and worth adding.
Sources
- David Wondrich, Imbibe!, 2015 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Bourbon Buck, 2010 (reference)
- Gary Regan, The Joy of Mixology, 2003 (book)
Strength. About 1.52 US standard drinks at an estimated 12.2% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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