The Boy and his Poison: The Bourbon and Peach Smash

I've been toying with the idea of starting up a lucrative sideline in cocktail making as therapy. There's no shortage of anxiety quashing adjectives at play in most of my recipes. I've had you pulverising fruit, burning brandy, smacking herbs, beating eggs - in fact, I'm starting to think I'm more cocktail sadist than cocktail curator.

After a particularly stressful start to the week, I decided that the only thing for it was to make the most violent sounding drink I could. Introducing the Bourbon and Peach Smash, with a garnish of smacked thyme. Syrupy, fruity and fragrant, this is definitely one of my sweeter drinks, but the tiny hit of lemon and aroma from the thyme balance it perfectly. I'll take that over a session of yoga any time.

You will need:

• 50ml of bourbon (a nice and strong one like Wild Turkey but rye also works really well)
• 25ml Grand Marnier/curacao
• 17ml Honey or agave (the runnier the better)
• 17ml Lemon juice
• 1 Peach
• 1 Sprig of thyme

Make it!

1. Add the bourbon, Grand Marnier, honey and lemon juice to a shaker.
2. Dice the peach and add to the shaker.
3. Muddle (i.e. pulvarise) the peach with the a rolling pin. PEACHSMASH!
4. Shake without ice for 5-10 seconds.
5. Add ice and shake again for 5-10 seconds (really exorcise the horror of your day).
6. Strain into a cocktail glass.
7. Take your thyme and smack it against a work top to release the oils, and rest it on the glass.
8. And relax...