Peach Jam Sweet Tea and Bourbon Cocktail Recipe

Peach sweet tea and bourbon is just the thing for summer porch sipping. Serve in a mason jar, prop up your feet and sip summer! Amped up with peach jam, peach schnapps and fresh peach wedges, this jam cocktail is full of fruit flavors!

Stirring peach jam in bourbon cocktails is a thing.  Yes ma’am.  Think of peach jam like you would think of simple syrup.   Joyce Pinson, Friends Drift Inn

Originally published  Sept 29, 2011 as Bourbon Southern Sweet Tea Cocktail

Sweet Tea and Bourbon Cocktail Recipe with Peach Jam – Recipe At-A-Glance

Prep Time 20 Minutes (To make iced tea) 3 minutes to shake and garnish   Total 23 Minutes

NOTE:  This recipe is for one cocktail.  It can be doubled or made in big batches.  See Recipe Notes. 

Ingredients – Tea – Kentucky Bourbon – Peach Schnapps – Friends Drift Inn Peach Cobbler Jam – Fresh Peaches for Garnish – Ice

Equipment – Cocktail Shaker and strainer (optional) – Pitcher or Glasses – Bar spoon – Knife- Cutting Board

Peach Jam Sweet Tea and Bourbon Summer Bliss!

A mason jar dripping with condensation, grandma’s handkerchief, bourbon sweet tea, peach jam with a peach on the side – it is summer in the South.

 Kentucky is known for bourbon.  The South is known for peaches and sweet tea.  I like to think this jam cocktail is the best of both.

You will too!   

While a mint julep cocktail is traditional for Kentucky Derby Parties, bourbon sweet tea would fit in for a day at the races.  

This is a simple bourbon cocktail, one of those summer mixed drinks that you can whip up in a moment’s notice. 

You do keep sweet tea made-up already, right?

Some folks would insist a jam cocktail should be shaken and strained. That is just not me. Shake it up if you want. But why strain out those little chunks of peach jam? They make that last swallow a perfect fruit finale!

Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam in Cocktails

Stirring jam in tea is a British tradition.  Stirring jam in sweet tea bourbon cocktails should be!  

We are very proud of our LINK peach jams. Friends Drift Inn Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam features fruit first. Peaches are the primary ingredient. There are even bits of fruit visible in every bite!

You really taste the peach goodness.

Our aim with Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam is to recapture the food memory of Grandma’s peach cobber, rich with summer peaches, brown sugar, and bourbon.  

We do not add preservatives or colorings to our peach jams that might muddy the flavor. This makes for a clean aftertaste.

And you can rest assured our jam sweeteners are pure cane sugar and brown sugar. No high fructose corn syrup here!

Choosing the Perfect Iced Tea

For the love of summer, make your iced tea from scratch! 

One of our favorite chefs turned us on to a specific brand for iced tea years ago.  It is a blend of Orange Pekoe and Pekoe Cut Black Tea. 

It is the tea used in this cocktail recipe.  Heck, it is what we use for our everyday iced tea. 

Orange Pekoe does not denote a taste; it references a grade of tea.  You want a sweet tea that is refreshing and smooth. 

Choose a tea brand that has a clean, fresh taste and does not turn cloudy in the refrigerator. 

Quick Instructions to Make Tea

1. Boil Water in saucepan.  We start with a quart.
2. Remove from heat.
3. Add tea bags to achieve the strength we want. (We make it strong, because you add so much ice)
4. Remove from heat.
5. Cover pot and let steep 5 minutes or so. 
6. Allow to cool before making cocktail.

What is it About Sweet Tea and The South?

Sweet Tea is a sacred thing below the Mason-Dixon Line.  Some go so far as to call it the “house wine.” 

Southern Living’s editors write in “21 Ways to Enjoy Sweet Tea” :

There are a few trademark things folks think of when they think of the South. Those tend to be things like friendly people, sunny weather, and sweet iced tea—very sweet.

It is true.  At Grandma’s we always had sweet tea on the table.

Here at the big red barn, hot summers dictate two pitchers of sweet tea be made.  There is one on the table and one in the refrigerator.  Especially if guests are coming. 

 And that does not count the new batch steeping on the stove! 

Perhaps Allison Glock from  Gun and Garden explains it best in her love story about sweet tea.  

To say Southerners drink sweet tea like water is both true and not. True because the beverage is served at every meal, and all times and venues in between—at church and at strip clubs, at preschool and in nursing homes. Not true because unlike water or wine or even Coca-Cola, sweet tea means something. It’s culture in a glass.

Allison, that is some good writing!

So to me, adding peach jam and bourbon to sweet tea seems proper and respectful, just another layer of a cultural icon we cherish and revere. 

Porch sipping is an art.  It is a deliberate act to slow down and be in the moment.  What can be better than summer in the South with friends gathered ’round?

Choosing A Kentucky Bourbon

LINK Friends Drift Inn Bourbon Peach Cobbler LINK jam is made with a splash of bourbon.  Not just any bourbon.  We want a bourbon that is not too sweet, has notes of caramel, a little hint of oak, and a mash bill that is well-balanced with only a smidgen of rye bite. 

Here at the big red barn, we keep a variety of Kentucky bourbons on hand.  Some we like as a straight bourbon.  Some with a little ice.  Still others we choose for cocktails and cooking. 

So how do we decide what goes where?

Bourbon Tasting is Subjective

If you want to learn the nuances of Kentucky’s native spirit, take a cue from the Kentucky Distillers Association guide to bourbon tasting.

They note the key elements are:

1. Sight – What color is the bourbon?  The darkness is a clue to how long it has aged.  The darker the hue, the higher the proof.

2. Smell – Smell bourbon with your mouth open.  Close your eyes and savor that moment! 

3. Taste – Swirl it around in your mouth before you swallow.  What does your palate tell your brain? How long after you swallow does the finish linger?

4. Cocktail – Now try it in a mixed drink.  See how the complexity of flavors marry up. 

To learn about bourbon, find a bar that serves up “Bourbon Flights.”  They will walk you through tastings.  Developing a bourbon palate takes time, just like learning to taste wine.  There is no right or wrong choice, it is what tastes the best to you. 

What is Peach Schnapps?

Schnapps is a neutral flavored spirit, with fruit juices and in some cases an addition of spice. 

Peach schnapps concentrates peach flavors, with a background of nuttiness and grains.  A good peach schnapps does not contain high fructose corn syrup. 

Schnapps does not have the mouthfeel of brandy or bourbon.  It leaves your palate warm, with an linger of peach goodness. It seems thick, coating your mouth with a big of rich syrup.  

One of the most popular drinks to make with peach schnapps is the Fuzzy Navel. 

Schnapps is not really my “thing” but like an day at the amusement park, it can be fun once in the while.

Peaches Love Bourbon Sweet Tea

A good peach is sweet and juicy.  It should have a little give when you bite into the fuzzy skin to get to the yellow flesh. 

Depending on the variety, peaches have just a hint of acid.  Part of the almond family, you get a flirt of almond flavor too.

You will love this jam cocktail for backyard BBQ’s and tailgating!  Keep plenty on hand!  

What Goes with Peach Jam Sweet Tea and Bourbon Cocktails?

This is the perfect bourbon cocktail for Sunday Suppers on the back porch.  Other menu items that compliment peaches include:

• Arugula and Watercress Salad dressed with fresh peaches and almonds
•  Deviled Eggs with Pepper Jelly
• BBQ beef or pork with a peach jam glaze 
•  Peach Jam Bars
• Peach jam baked beans
•  Ham Biscuits  
•  Baked Chicken Wings
• Honey Corn Cakes 
•  Hot Dogs with Peach Habanero Jam glaze
• Banana Pudding

Because this is a large drink, we love sipping peach jam sweet tea bourbon cocktails while we grill.  The ices melts cooling the drink – and it will cool you down too!  

Flipping burgers and fighting mosquitoes requires a summer bourbon cocktail!

What Makes this Jam Cocktail so Good?

Peaches are not an in your faces flavor.  Sweet tea, at its best, is mellow and smooth – just like a good bourbon.  Amp that up with Friends Drift Inn Bourbon Peach Cobbler Jam and a splash of Peach Schnapps! 

You have created a summer wonderment in a jar. 

Sip it slow.  Sip it with little ice cubes clinking around in a mason jar sending beads of condensation creeping down the sides of the glass. 

If you are out on the porch, you might need a hanky. 

Grandma always kept a hanky handy to wipe off the summer glow.  Besides that, it looks prettier than a coaster under your mason jar. 

Drink responsibly.

 You can bet I’ll be on the front porch sipping Southern Sweet Tea and Bourbon cocktails until the snow flies!

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