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Also known as the most summery, southern style drink ever.
Well, maybe not ever, but I mean, come on? This cocktail screams southern summer fun with its hints of tea, sweet peach, lemon, mint, and plenty of bourbon. I’ve had this fun cocktail on the books now since The Kentucky Derby, which was May 5th, so yeah…kind of a while. Originally I was going to share this as a Derby Day drink, but with all the fresh peach flavors happening I decided to save this one for summertime.
Seeing as the 4th of July is just a little over a week away, I knew the time was finally right to share this cocktail! The days are long, hot, and hopefully sunny, and honestly this is the perfect refreshing summer drink…whether it’s for celebrating the 4th or just a simple afternoon cocktail, this one might just become your new favorite.
And you know what I really love about this peachy sweet tea julep? It’s a pitcher style julep, meaning you literally add all the ingredients to ONE pitcher, stir it up and you’re done. Nothing fancy, no fuss, and you’ll have cocktails for a crowd. You can let the mixture sit in the fridge for a couple of days before serving. The longer the fruit sits in the cocktail mix, the more flavor the fruits will soak up…yuummmmmm boozy peaches. How amazing does that sound? Trust me, it’s good.
This also means that this is the perfect cocktail for entertaining! <–love when things are easy and make-ahead friendly!
If you’re having trouble finding fresh peach juice, simply blend 1 cup of super ripe, fresh peaches with about 1 cup of water. You can then strain the juice through a fine mesh sieve or just use it as is. Either will work great! Also, I prefer a very non-sweet cocktail and found that with all the fresh fruit happening in this drink that I didn’t need much sweetener. Be sure to taste the drink before serving and sweeten it to your liking.
And lastly, if you wanted to top your juleps with a little fizz, I think adding sparkling water or even ginger beer would be extra delicious. Mmmmmm.
Strawberry Peach Sweet Tea Julep Pitcher
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh mint leaves
- 1-2 tablespoons cane sugar or honey, to taste , (optional)
- 2 cups unsweetened green tea
- 1 1/2 cups bourbon
- 1 cup store-bought or homemade peach juice
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 fresh peaches sliced
- 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
- crushed ice for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a large pitcher, combine the mint and sugar, if using. Using a muddler, mash the leaves until bruised. Stir in the green tea, bourbon, peach juice, lemon juice, fresh peaches, and strawberries. Chill until ready to serve. 2. Serve over crushed ice and garnish with fresh mint.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Have a great Saturday everyone!
My husband and I don’t drink alcohol. It wasn’t good for our family. Do you have any suggestions for making it a mocktail?
Hi Abigail,
Thanks for trying the recipe, sorry to hear it wasn’t enjoyed. Just leave out the bourbon to make it a mocktail. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I used the leftover fancy bourbon and might’ve got a little heavy handed in this recipe! I couldn’t find peach juice at my regular grocer, so I blended 3 skinned peaches with a cup of water and poured the whole thing (more than 1 cup with the peach flesh-pulp) into the pitcher. This offset my really really strong bourbon a bit and pleased my dinner guests who needed to drive home afterwards. Definitely a fan of this drink! The strawberries lauded as the best part amongst my guests, so don’t skimp!
Haha, sounds like you made the perfect little cocktail!!
Thanks for making it Danica!
So pretty, this is the most perfect summery drink! Cheers to Friday! 🙂
Thank you Laura!
This recipe screams summer! Definitely adding this recipe to my list of summer cocktails!
Xo,
Annie
http://whatannieseating.com/
Yes agreed! I hope you love this Annie! Thank you!
YUM! This looks (and sounds) amazing!!
Rebecca
xx
Thanks girl! Hope you get a chance to try it!
Thank you.
This is my kind of drinks, sweet, fruity and you get to forget that there is alcohol in there. A Definitely summery drink!
Happy Weekend Tieghan!
Easily one that you forget theres alcohol! So happy your liking it Carlos! Hope you had a great weekend!
I am not a fan of bourbon…any suggestions for swapping it out? It sounds delicious otherwise.
pick one. Or mix two 50/50.
Bacardi Limón – lemon flavored.
Bacardi Peach Red – peach flavored.
Bacardi Dragon Berry – strawberry flavored, infused with dragon fruit
Hi Heather, the bourbon is a big factor in the drink. It will change the flavor a lot if you use another alcohol. That said, I think tequila or vodka would probably work. It might need to be sweater however. Let me know if you have questions.
We have a heat wave here and this shall fit just fine 🙂 Thank you so much !
Perfect for a heat wave!! Thank you!