Bourbon and Honey Ginger Pear Cocktail

Slightly sweet, fruity and complex, this Bourbon and Honey Ginger Pear Cocktail is a simple seasonal cocktail perfect for holiday celebrations!

Happy weekend y’all! I’ve been busy stirring up a few new cocktail recipes this week to get ready for all the holiday parties that I know will (way too) soon be filling up my calendar! I love creating and testing new cocktails for you guys, it’s a great excuse to pick up a new bottle of something or try a new flavor combination.

This time of year, I tend to reach for the ingredients that I’m already using in my cooking and baking to add a bit of a seasonal flavor to my cocktails. Pears, clementines, apples, cranberries, pomegranates, cider, cinnamon, ginger and honey are all taking over for the summer-y strawberries, mint and watermelon. When the weather gets chilly, I prefer flavors that are deep, warm and comforting, like a big bear hug in a glass.

Pears are the one fruit that I really didn’t like when I was a kid. I think it was mostly because they didn’t survive in my lunch box. When I’d plop down for lunch, I’d pull out this brown, bruised, mushy thing that used to be a pear but had now smushed itself all over the rest of my lunch. I’m not the only one that happened to, right?! I’ve since gained an appreciation for the fragile little fruit, especially around the holidays.

For this Ginger Pear Cocktail, I’ve started with a flavorful honey syrup instead of a traditional sugar based simple syrup. Adding fresh ginger and pear slices to the mix gives the honey syrup a complex flavor and a bit of depth. Once the syrup is ready, you can really make anything with it. Add a splash to a cocktail, sparkling water or a mug of hot water with a squeeze of lemon for a warm comforting drink. However you decide to enjoy it, store any leftover syrup in a jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Bourbon and Honey Ginger Pear Cocktail

Print Recipe

Slightly sweet, fruity and complex, this Bourbon and Honey Ginger Pear Cocktail is a simple seasonal cocktail perfect for holiday celebrations!

• Author: Kristen Olson
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 1 Cocktail 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• Ginger Pear Honey Syrup
• 1 cup honey
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 firm ripe pear, sliced
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
• Bourbon and Honey Ginger Pear Cocktail
• 3 ounces bourbon whiskey
• 3/4 ounce Pear-Ginger Honey Syrup
• 2 dashes bitters
• Fresh pear slices

Instructions

1. To Make The Ginger-Pear Honey Syrup: In a 2-quart saucepan, mix honey, water, pears and ginger. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring until the honey is dissolved. Remove from heat; set aside to cool, about 1 hour.
2. Strain the syrup with a fine mesh strainer; discard solids. Pour the syrup into a glass jar. Cover the jar and refrigerate until needed. Makes about 1 cup.
3. To make the cocktail: In a glass with a large ice cube, use a bar spoon to stir together the bourbon, Ginger Pear Honey Syrup and bitters until well chilled. Garnish with ginger and pear slices.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Cocktail
• Calories: 298
• Sugar: 15g
• Sodium: 1mg
• Fat: 0g
• Saturated Fat: 0g
• Unsaturated Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 15g
• Fiber: 0g
• Protein: 0g
• Cholesterol: 0mg

What’s your go-to seasonal cocktail?

Here are a few more cocktails to kick off the season…
Honeycrisp Old Fashioned from How Sweet It Is
Cranberry Shrub Cocktail from David Lebovitz
Cranberry Vanilla Gin Spritzer from Foxes Love Lemons

Or, try my Bourbon and Honey Apple Cider Cocktail…

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