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Old Pepper

Photo of Old Pepper bourbon cocktail with crushed ice in a rocks glass
Photo by Julie Soefer

This bourbon cocktail isn’t technically a Southern classic, but it drinks so much like one. The cocktail was actually created at a modern speakeasy in New York City called Milk & Honey, but every time I serve it at an event in the South, people absolutely love it.

Ingredients

Makes 1 cocktail

For the Turbinado Syrup:

2 cups Sugar in the Raw turbinado
1 cup water

For the cocktail:

1½ oz. 80-proof bourbon
¾ oz. Turbinado Syrup
½ oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ oz. Crystal hot sauce
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Garnish: 1 chile de arbol
  1. To make the cocktail:填满石头玻璃碎冰。把bourbon, syrup, lemon juice, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce into a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice cubes. Cover and shake vigorously 20 times. Strain into the glass. Place the straw in the glass. To garnish, place the chile on the ice.

FromJulep: Southern Cocktails Refashionedby Alba Huerta, copyright © 2018. Photography by Julie Soefer. Published by Lorena Jones Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Buy the full book fromAmazonorBookshop.
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  • Just stumbled upon this cocktail after looking up "cocktails with worcestershire" as a joke. I realized i had all the ingredients and decided to make the cocktail because i thought it would be funny. I made it and it ended up being really good!! Will be making again! Thanks Alba!!

    • Gertrude

    • south carolina

    • 4/20/2022

  • Maybe because I’m in Indiana, maybe because it is a cool fall day - but I do just love bourbon, and who in their right mind does not like “hot sauce” coupled with Worcestershire sauce, how could it be beat? The first one went down “real easy” while watching Purdue play Michigan State, one more touch down and I think I will need another! I only wish I had the garnishment of the hot pepper, but it still taste great. I’ll be making more of these!

    • “Ole Doc Tom”

    • Delphi, Indiana

    • 11/6/2021

  • I probably shouldn't, but I like everything about this cocktail... I don't want to like it - But I really, really do :)

    • VinoFan2121

    • Hampton Roads Virginia

    • 11/6/2021

  • Sorry to say, but neither my wife nor I liked this cocktail, both wishing that we'd made Old Fashions instead and wondering if the Old Pepper would be improved with a slice and squeeze of orange. First sip was interesting but it didn't travel well. My wife complained that it was "murky". She's an import, but I am a Southerner and part of the target for the Old Pepper. I enjoyed trying something new, but will not make this again.

    • Scootster

    • Live in Hawaii.

    • 11/6/2021

  • One of my favourite cocktails. The Crystal hot sauce is essential!

    • LikeTheCake

    • Here and There

    • 3/12/2021

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