Bourbon Renewal
Bourbon, lemon, crème de cassis, sugar and bitters, shaken over ice. Jeffrey Morgenthaler's 2004 Portland drink — a bourbon sour with blackcurrant depth.
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 rocks glass with ice.
Add the bourbon, lemon juice, crème de cassis, syrup and bitters to a shaker.
Fill with ice and shake hard for 10 to 12 seconds.
Strain over the fresh ice and garnish with a lemon wheel.
A thoughtful finish
- A full ounce of lemon keeps it a sour; the cassis and syrup together are sweet enough.
- A good Burgundy cassis has real blackcurrant; the cheap ones are purple sugar.
- Morgenthaler serves it on the rocks; it is also good up.
Common mistakes
- Too much cassis, which turns it into a liqueur drink.
- Skipping the bitters; they tie the bourbon to the fruit.
- Sour mix.
A few good questions.
What does a Bourbon Renewal taste like?
A bourbon sour with blackcurrant — tart, dark-fruited, a little spicy from the bitters.
How is it different from a Bramble?
Bourbon for gin, lemon for lemon, cassis for crème de mûre, and it is shaken rather than drizzled. The structure is the same.
Who is Jeffrey Morgenthaler?
A Portland bartender and author of The Bar Book, known for rebuilding the Amaretto Sour and for this drink.
Can I use rye?
Yes; it is drier and spicier. Bourbon is the recipe and its sweetness suits the fruit.
Variations
- Whiskey Sour — Bourbon, lemon and sugar.
- Bramble — Gin, lemon and blackberry liqueur.
- New York Sour — Whiskey sour with a red wine float.
- Gold Rush — Bourbon, lemon and honey.
Where it comes from
2004 · Portland, Oregon · Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Jeffrey Morgenthaler created the Bourbon Renewal around 2004 in Portland, Oregon, as a bourbon sour with crème de cassis for colour and dark fruit, and it became one of the first widely copied drinks of the Pacific Northwest’s cocktail revival. He has said it was built to sell bourbon to people who ordered Lemon Drops. The name is a pun on urban renewal. It is a sour with a Bramble’s structure — spirit, lemon, sugar, a dark berry liqueur — and it travelled through Morgenthaler’s blog and his 2014 Bar Book to bars everywhere.
Sources
- Jeffrey Morgenthaler, The Bar Book, 2014 (book)
- Robert Simonson, A Proper Drink, 2016 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Bourbon Renewal, 2015 (reference)
Strength. About 1.69 US standard drinks at an estimated 21.4% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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