30) Mango Whiskey Smash

2 oz. Knob Creek Bourbon
.5 oz. Lemon juice
.5 oz. Simple Syrup
1/4 of a mango, coarsely chopped
6 mint leaves

In the glass portion of a boston shaker gently muddle the mango and mint leaves. Add the rest of the ingredients, ice, and shake vigorously. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass with ice.

Just as the marriage of chocolate and peanut butter is good and right, the combination of Bourbon and mint is a match which shakes the heavens. This paring is most well known in the Mint Julep, and often overlooked in its little brother, the Smash. While the Julep is meant to be sipped as a ward against the summer heat, Smashes (simply spirit, sugar, water, and mint) are more geared towards quick consumption.

Ed and I had been talking about a mango drink after the bar acquired a case of them which subsequently sat unused in the walk-in. With a great deal of David Wondrich's "Imbibe" still rattling around my brain pan, I was hep to the Smash jive. To be sure, the addition of the lemon juice is not quite trad, and the mango (while hardly a ground breaking maneuver) is a bit outside the box. Nevertheless, this drink came out quite good - A bit more lively than the standard Smash. Each of the components was mellow, but none overpowered the other.

About half way through this drink I was really wanting to be in a back yard with three more and some sausage on a grill.

Anybody got a backyard I can borrow?

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