The Kentucky Maid Is an Easy Cocktail That'll Make You Look Like a Pro
Our 12 Cocktails of Summer Series continues with an easy Southern sipper invented by a Milk & Honey legend.
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The Kentucky Maid sounds like the name of a classic Southern cocktail meant for sipping in the cool of a lazy summer evening. But the drink, a bourbon-based lowball made with mint and cucumber, was actually invented by Sam Ross at Milk & Honey—the little Lower East Side speakeasy that presaged the modern cocktail renaissance back in the mid-2000s.
Structurally, the drink follows the classic sour formula (spirit, citrus, sugar), making it a descendant of classics such as the Eastside (gin, lime, mint, simple syrup). But the Kentucky Maid steps out of tradition by pairing lime juice with bourbon instead of its usual dancing partner, lemon, and introducing not just mint but cucumber as well.