This smoked peach bourbon smash with lemon and basil is perfect for using up those late summer peaches. Or, let's be honest, for showing your friends how stinking fancy you are! And with Labor Day weekend around the corner you will be all set with an interesting cocktail that piles on a melange of sweet, herbal, tangy, and smokey. It's like a whiskey sour's much cooler, older sibling that annoyingly seems to get all the attention. 

Going the extra mile to smoke your peaches is really what makes this cocktail sing. But if you couldn't be bothered to start up (or find) a smoker, this recipe will still be awesome with plain old grilled peaches. Here's how you craft this smoked peach bourbon smash. 

 - 3 peaches, cut in half, pit removed

 - Smoking chips (I used hickory)

 - 4 oz water

 - 4 oz sugar

 - 1 1/2 lemons, diced into large pieces

 - 4-5 sprigs of fresh basil

 - 16 oz bourbon

 - 2 cups ice + extra for serving

Light up your smoker. You want the heat to be medium low. Spray your halved peaches with a little non-stick cooking spray. Once your smoker is wafting smoke, place the peaches in the smoker flesh side down. Smoke the peaches for 30 minutes. If you are opting out of smoking your peaches, simply grill the peaches on medium low heat, turning frequently until soft and tender, about 20-30 minutes.

In a small sauce pan, add the water and the sugar to make a simple syrup and place it on the stove. Dice the smoked peaches into large pieces, add them to the simple syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking to dissolve the sugar. Turn down the heat so that it stays at a gentle simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Allow the syrup to cool.

In a cocktail pitcher, combine the diced lemons, basil, and cooled simple syrup/peach mixture. Muddle the mixture (mash everything together) until the juice from the lemons are extracted (I totally used a potato masher to muddle this cocktail. No shame, y'all!). Add the bourbon and 2 cups of ice and stir the cocktail in a quick, circular motion until the pitcher feels extra cold on your hand.

Strain the cocktail through a fine mesh strainer, pushing the juices out of the peaches. Divide the cocktails by 8 and serve over a couple cubes of ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a peach slice and a sprig of basil. Be careful. This cocktail is very easy to drink and therefore easy to drink too much. Enjoy your late summer festivities and a smoked peach bourbon smash on me!