Classic cocktail · Guided recipe
Kentucky Colonel
Start makingTwo ingredients at four to one, Bénédictine laying honey and dried herbs over bourbon's vanilla and corn, with nothing else in the glass to soften the landing.
In the glassBourbon · Bénédictine
See exact amounts
What goes in
Ingredients
Set up before you pour
Use a coupe glass.
The stem keeps your hand away from a cold drink, while the rounded bowl makes an up serve easy to sip.
- Standard size
- 200 ml6¾ oz
- Ice & serve
- Chill it first; serve without ice.
- If you don’t own one
- Use a small martini glass or stemmed dessert glass.
- cocktail shaker
- strainer (or a small sieve)
- jigger or measuring spoon
- Bourbon60 ml
- Bénédictine15 ml
From bottle to glass
Method
- 01
Measure into the shaker Pour 60 ml bourbon into your shaker
Bourbon
- 02
Measure into the shaker Add 15 ml bénédictine
Bénédictine
- 03
Ice the shaker Fill the shaker with ice
- 04
Seal and shake Seal and shake hard
- 05
Strain cleanly Strain into a chilled glass — no ice
Know your drink
About the Kentucky Colonel
Twenty-seven herbs, one recipe
Bénédictine has been made at Fécamp in Normandy since the 1860s, when Alexandre Le Grand began producing and marketing it on the claim that he had revived a monastery recipe. Historians have never found evidence the monks made anything of the sort. Every bottle still carries D.O.M. for Deo Optimo Maximo, and twenty-seven herbs and spices has been the house line ever since.
Kentucky colonel is an honorary title the state has handed out since the nineteenth century, which is where the drink gets its name and roughly the extent of the connection. No bar, no date, no bartender. It surfaces in mid-century American books and has been passed around since on the strength of needing exactly two bottles and a cold glass.
Common questions
Kentucky Colonel FAQ
My bottle of Bénédictine has been open two years. Still good?
Almost certainly. It sits at 40 percent alcohol and carries a lot of sugar, so it does not oxidize the way vermouth does. Stored upright in a cupboard it will outlast most things on the shelf. The one nuisance is sugar crystallizing around the cap, which is cosmetic. Wipe the neck and carry on.
Four to one is too sweet for me. How far can I go?
Down to 8 ml of Bénédictine against 60 ml of bourbon, which is the Bobby Burns proportion, and it still tastes like the same drink. Below that the liqueur stops registering at all. Two dashes of Angostura is the other fix, and that one costs you no sweetness whatsoever.
Monte Carlo, Bobby Burns, this one. Which is which?
All three pair a whiskey with Bénédictine. Monte Carlo is rye plus Angostura, so it lands drier and spicier. Bobby Burns brings Scotch with sweet vermouth alongside, rounder and maltier. This is bourbon and Bénédictine on their own at four to one, the sweetest and the plainest of the set.
Does the choice of bourbon really matter?
More than usual, since there is nothing else in the glass to hide behind. A high-rye bourbon keeps some pepper against the honey. A wheated one like Maker's Mark doubles down on the softness and can tip the whole thing into dessert. At 45 percent or above it holds its shape better.
What ingredients are in a Kentucky Colonel?
A classic Kentucky Colonel calls for 60 ml (2 oz) Bourbon, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Bénédictine. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.
How strong is a Kentucky Colonel?
A standard Kentucky Colonel is roughly 44% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.
Is a Kentucky Colonel shaken or stirred?
A Kentucky Colonel is shaken. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.
Sharpen the technique
Skills used in this recipe
Where to go next
If you like the Kentucky Colonel, try these.
Kentucky Mule
A Moscow Mule with bourbon: whiskey, lime and spicy ginger beer over ice in a frosty mug.
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The whiskey sour is bourbon, lemon and sugar — the template every “sour” cocktail is built on. This is the classic no-egg version: bright, balanced, and ready in two minutes.
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Paper Plane
A modern equal-parts classic: bourbon, Aperol, amaro and lemon. Bitter, bright and beautifully balanced.
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