Pumpkin Bourbon Smash: Easy 5-Minute Fall Cocktail
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Starbucks launched its pumpkin spice latte in 2003 and has built its fall season around the drink ever since. We didn’t understand the annual obsession until we bought a bottle of pumpkin spice syrup and started mixing cocktails at home. One of our favorites is the Pumpkin Bourbon Smash.
Don’t let the name fool you. Our Pumpkin Bourbon Smash doesn’t involve any smashing. Instead of muddled pumpkin and spices, pumpkin spice syrup provides the fall flavor. Mixology magic happens when the syrup combines with bourbon and fresh orange juice. All that’s left to do is pour the mixture over a big ice cube and add a cinnamon stick.
The resulting cocktail is warm, sweet and spicy at the same time. It takes five minutes to make and tastes like fall in a glass.
🍸 This Recipe at a Glance
- Base: Bourbon
- Glass: Lowball glass
- Method: Stirred in a mixing glass and strained over a large ice cube
- Garnish: Cinnamon stick
- Time: 5 minutes
- Strength: Medium (about 16% ABV after stirring)
- Calories: About 240
- Flavor: Sweet and warmly spiced with bright orange and notes of caramel and vanilla
- Best for: Fall dinner parties, Thanksgiving and cozy nights at home
What Is a Pumpkin Bourbon Smash?
A Pumpkin Bourbon Smash is a bourbon cocktail built around pumpkin spice syrup. The syrup brings the flavors of pumpkin pie: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Fresh orange juice cuts the sweetness and adds a citrus lift.
Bourbon is the natural base for this drink. Its caramel and vanilla notes play nicely with baking spices. We stir the cocktail instead of shaking it, which keeps it silky and lets the bourbon shine.
Ingredients
Our Pumpkin Bourbon Smash is a three-ingredient cocktail, not counting the garnish and ice. Here’s everything you need to buy to make one yourself:
Ingredient quantities are detailed in the printable recipe card below.
How to Craft a Pumpkin Bourbon Smash
Once you gather the ingredients and a few basic bar tools, follow these steps to make a Pumpkin Bourbon Smash:
Step 1: Measure
Measure the bourbon, pumpkin spice syrup and orange juice with a jigger. Pour each into a mixing glass.
Pro Tip
Run your orange juice through a fine strainer if your juicer lets pulp through.
Step 2: Stir
Add small ice cubes to the mixing glass. Stir for about 20 seconds until the cocktail is mixed and chilled.
Step 3: Strain
Drop a large ice cube into a lowball glass. Strain the cocktail over the ice cube.
Pro Tip
Fill a jumbo ice cube tray the night before you craft this cocktail. Boiled or filtered water makes clearer cubes.
Step 4: Garnish
Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Pro Tip
Hold the cinnamon stick over a flame for a few seconds before garnishing. The smoky aroma justifies the extra effort.
Variations
While we’re big fans of our Pumpkin Bourbon Smash, you may want to tweak the recipe. Here are a few ideas:
Discover 10 essential bar tools for the home mixologist.
Pumpkin Bourbon Smash Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounces bourbon
- 1 ounce orange juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 ounce pumpkin spice syrup
- 1 cinnamon stick (garnish)
- 1 ice cube (large)
- ice cubes (for mixing)
Instructions
- Measure bourbon, pumpkin spice syrup and orange juice and pour each into a mixing glass.
- Add small ice cubes and stir until the liquids are mixed and chilled (approximately 20 seconds).
- Drop a large ice cube into a lowball glass.
- Strain the liquid into the glass.
- Garnish with a cinnamon stick.
Nutrition
💡 Frequently Asked Questions
Classic smashes call for muddled herbs or fruit. In this recipe, pumpkin spice syrup provides big flavor without a muddler.
Stirred. Stirring chills the drink while keeping its texture smooth.
A mid-shelf bourbon around 80 to 100 proof holds its own against pumpkin spice syrup and orange juice. Higher-proof bourbons make a bolder drink.
You can, but fresh juice makes a noticeably better cocktail. If you use bottled juice, choose one that’s not from concentrate.
Our recipe has about 242 calories per cocktail. Most come from the bourbon and syrup.
Yes. Replace the bourbon with strong-brewed black tea or a non-alcoholic whiskey alternative.
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