Julep / Smash

Whiskey Smash

5 min.Rye whiskey

Add the white sugar and water to a small bar glass or Old Fashioned glass.
1
Stir with a bar spoon until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
2
Add the mint sprigs and gently press or lightly muddle them to express their oils without shredding the leaves.
3
Add the rye whiskey to the glass.
4
Fill the glass about two-thirds full with very finely crushed or shaved ice.
5
Stir or churn briefly to chill the drink and integrate the flavors.
6
Top with a little more crushed ice to form a low mound above the rim.
7
Garnish by arranging a fresh mint sprig near the surface so its aroma meets the nose when drinking.
8
Serve immediately while well chilled.
9

United States
Origin
The Whiskey Smash is part of the 19th-century American Smash family, often described as a julep on a small plan, and appears in Jerry Thomas’s How to Mix Drinks (1862) and later Bar-Tender’s Guide editions. Thomas’s printed Whiskey Smash is a simple combination of whiskey, sugar, water, and mint over shaved ice, without explicit lemon, reflecting the early form of the style. Over the later 19th century, Smashes in general migrated toward including lemon, paving the way for the more citrus-forward modern versions.
History
Jerry Thomas prints the Whiskey Smash alongside Brandy and Gin Smashes, cementing it as a recognized category member by 1862. In Thomas’s books the drink is served in a small bar glass, essentially an early Old Fashioned or rocks-style tumbler. David Wondrich and Difford’s both characterize the Smash as a seasonal, refreshing drink meant for warm weather, originally somewhere between a Mint Julep and a light fruit cobbler in spirit. The now-common lemon-and-mint Whiskey Smash popularized by Dale DeGroff is a later reinterpretation; Thomas’s own Whiskey Smash is closer to a scaled-down Mint Julep with no specified citrus.
Trivia
Roast chicken, Grilled pork chops, Fried chicken, Pecan pie
Pairings
How to Mix Drinks / The Bar-Tender’s Guide
Source