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Keep it classy with this UFCW-made bourbon and wine cocktail

June 17, 2019 Updated: September 8, 2020

A layered cocktail in an old-fashioned glass

Looking for a simple but sophisticated cocktail for your next get together? We’re proud to have among the UFCW’s ranks many hard working men and women at quality distilleries and wineries, and this cocktail gives us a chance to highlight both UFCW-made bourbon and wine in one drink.

The Derby Sour  is similar to a Brown Derby, a refreshing grapefruit-based drink straight out of 1940s Hollywood, but mixed with a New York Sour, a play on a whiskey sour that originated in Chicago in the 1870s. While topping a bourbon drink with red wine might seem unusual, it was common among Victorian-era bartenders as a way to add visual interest to a drink and would have been referred to as a “claret snap.”

This is a great drink if you are new to making cocktails as you don’t have to commit to buying any fancy liqueurs, plus the addition of honey syrup not only sounds tasty, but it is actually even easier to make than simple syrup— just mix half hot water with half honey until the honey dissolves, then let it cool.

Don’t be intimidated by having to float the red wine on top of the drink. While the internet is full of highly-skilled bartenders pouring liquids over the backs of spoons into neat layers, you can actually just pour the wine directly into a spoon and slowly spoon it onto the drink if you are nervous about messing up.  A drier, fruitier wine with a bit of spice works best, but you can probably get away with using most reds and it will still turn out great.


The Derby Sour

1 1/2 ounces UFCW-made Basil Hayden’s® Rye Whiskey
3/4 ounce fresh grapefruit juice
1/4 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce honey syrup (1/2 honey, 1/2 hot water)
1/2 ounce UFCW-made red wine (we used Hess Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon made by UFCW members in the Napa Valley)
2 dashes grapefruit bitters

Combine all the ingredients except for the wine into a cocktail shaker with some ice. Shake and then pour into a glass. Slowly float the wine on top using a spoon.

Lifehack: if you don’t own a cocktail shaker, try using a to-go coffee thermos with a lid. No one has to know.  


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