Peach and Rosemary Cocktail

A refreshing summer cocktail made with fresh peaches, rosemary, and bourbon.

By
Kelly Carámbula
Kelly Carámbula is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Kelly Carámbula

Kelly Carámbula is an artist and sculptor based in San Francisco. Kelly was the designer and publisher behind Remedy Quarterly (2009–2018), a magazine about food memories and the recipes that inspire them, as well as an award-winning food blogger at The Best Remedy.

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Updated March 30, 2025
Overhead view of a peach and rosemary cocktail in a coupe glass.

Serious Eats / Kelly Carámbula

Why It Works

  • The rosemary-infused syrup adds a woodsy, piney note that accents the muddled peach.
  • A half-ounce of lemon juice moderates the drink's sweetness, but does not take the cocktail into mouth-puckering whiskey sour territory.

Soft and fuzzy to the touch, blushed with hues of orange, pink, and red, peaches are in season and I'm loving it. The market is flush with juicy, fragrant white and yellow peaches that are bursting with flavor. Since they're such a tender fruit, peaches should be handled with care—as our farmers say, a squeeze today creates a bruise tomorrow—and eaten with a day or two of purchase. With a lonely peach still sitting on my counter a few days after I bought it, it was a do-or-die situation (for the peach that is). A cocktail, sweet from peach juice, herbal from rosemary syrup, and perfectly boozy from bourbon, was just the answer to this problem.

Ripe, almost squishy peaches work great for this cocktail, since the peaches will be muddled anyway and you're looking to get as much peach juice as possible. To balance out the sweet and tangy flavor of the peaches, rosemary syrup brings a little sophistication and an herbal note that meanders through each sip. Bourbon complements the juiciness of the peaches while bringing more depth to the cocktail. The result is a classic-tasting cocktail with a fresh seasonal spin.

Something tells me you might want to stock on peaches next week.

July 2012

Recipe Details

Peach and Rosemary Cocktail Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Active 5 mins
Total 5 mins
Serves 1 serving
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

For the Rosemary Simple Syrup:

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 cup water

  • 1 sprig rosemary

For the Cocktail:

  • 4 ripe peach slices

  • 1/2 ounce rosemary simple syrup (see recipe below)

  • 1/2 ounce fresh juice from 1 lemon

  • 1 1/2 ounces bourbon

Directions

  1. To Make the Syrup: Combine sugar, water, and rosemary in a small saucepan. Heat over high heat until boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook until for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.

  2. For the Cocktail: Muddle the peach slices and rosemary syrup in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice, add the lemon juice and bourbon and shake for 10 seconds. Strain through a mini strainer into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.

Special Equipment

Muddler, cocktail shaker, fine-mesh strainer, mini strainer

Make-Ahead and Storage

Rosemary syrup will keep for one week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
269 Calories
2g Fat
66g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 269
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g 2%
Saturated Fat 0g 1%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 0mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 66g 24%
Dietary Fiber 9g 33%
Total Sugars 59g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 47mg 233%
Calcium 38mg 3%
Iron 2mg 9%
Potassium 1186mg 25%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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