Smashes
5 recipes
This Field Manual holds 5 recipes in the smash family. A smash is spirit, sugar and fresh herbs, usually mint, with citrus muddled in, shaken or churned and served over crushed ice. Jerry Thomas printed it in 1862 as a julep on a small plan; the muddled lemon came later.
The muddle is where it goes right or wrong. Press citrus firmly to release the juice and the oil in the peel, and press herbs gently, because torn and bruised leaves turn bitter. The base can be anything that stands up to mint and lemon: whiskey in a Whiskey Smash, gin and basil in a Gin Basil Smash, rum in ours. Fine strain it if you want the leaves out of the glass.
Base Spirit
Difficulty Level
Dawa
A Dawa is 50ml of vodka poured over one lime, quartered and muddled with 20ml of honey syrup and 5ml of sugar syrup, in a rocks glass filled with crushed ice, with a stick coated
Gin Basil Smash
A Gin Basil Smash is 60ml London Dry gin, 22.5ml fresh lemon juice, 22.5ml simple syrup and ten basil leaves. The basil is muddled firmly into the lemon and syrup, the gin goes
Irish Maid
An Irish Maid is 50ml of Irish whiskey, 25ml of elderflower liqueur and 25ml of fresh lemon juice, shaken hard with four slices of pressed cucumber and double strained over fresh
Rum Smash
A Rum Smash is 60ml of spiced rum, three lemon wedges, 15ml of demerara syrup and eight mint leaves. The lemon is muddled hard with the syrup and the mint pressed gently after it;
Whiskey Smash
A Whiskey Smash is 60ml of bourbon, three lemon wedges, 20ml of sugar syrup and eight mint leaves. The lemon is muddled hard with the syrup and the mint pressed gently, then