Seelbach Cocktail Recipe
Bourbon, bitters, and bubbly are a perfect combination.

[Photo: Robyn Lee]
Ah, Kentucky Derby weekend—the time each year when people across the country begin affecting Southern accents and taking stabs at mixing, or at least drinking, mint juleps.
This isn't a mint julep. Let's be honest: unless you've honed your julep-making skills over years of withering summers, chances are the julep you'll find in your silver tumbler or, god help us, plastic cup is going to range somewhere between mildly disappointing and downright undrinkable. Now, don't get me wrong: I absolutely love mint juleps, and feel they are one of the great culinary contributions America has given the world; it's just that making an excellent julep (really, is it worth drinking any other kind?) is an exercise that requires an inordinate amount of labor, skill and love.
Fortunately, there are other Kentucky-inspired drinks that are absolutely appropriate to be mixed on Derby weekend. One of these is the Seelbach Cocktail. Named for the Louisville hotel of that name, the Seelbach rests on a base of bourbon—as if it would be anything but—and dresses up this spirit with a little Cointreau, a healthy dose of bitters and an indulgent splash of Champagne.
The Seelbach Cocktail may not be a julep, but it doesn't have to be: it's respectable, powerful, and delicious right down to the bottom of the glass.
Read more: Cocktails and Spirits with Paul Clarke: Cocktail History, Revisited
- Yield:makes 1 cocktail
- Active time: 3 minutes
- Total time:3 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 ounce bourbon
- 1/2 ounce Cointreau
- 7 dashes Angostura bitters
- 7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
- 5 ounces chilled dry Champagne
Directions
-
1.
Pour everything except the Champagne into a Champagne flute and stir. Top with Champagne, give everything a light stir, and garnish with an orange twist.
This Recipe Appears In
Cocktails and Spirits with Paul Clarke: Cocktail History, RevisitedThis post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.
Comments
Hello Eater!
Want to comment? Sign In or Register
ADD A COMMENT
PREVIEW YOUR COMMENT