Barsys
Bull Run
About
The Bull Run is the drink with some depth to it. Bourbon and a blackberry mix of blackberry, lemon, simple, and mint, shaken and served over ice. Where the G Slide is cool and pale, this one is dark, rich, and a little brooding, the drink for people who want fruit in the glass without giving up backbone.
Bourbon is the reason it holds together. Its warmth and its soft vanilla and oak character give the blackberry something to lean on, so the fruit reads as deep rather than sweet. The blackberry mix does the rest, dark berry rounded out with lemon for sharpness and a thread of mint for lift, so the drink stays bright even as it goes deep. It's a fruit-forward cocktail that never loses sight of the spirit underneath, which is a harder balance to strike than it sounds.
In the selection, it's the dark to the G Slide's light, the second half of a pairing that opens the menu on range.
Shaken or Stirred? Shaken, and it needs it. The blackberry mix carries fruit, lemon, and mint, and a proper shake is what pulls all of it evenly through the bourbon while adding the cold and dilution the drink relies on. Shaken hard and strained over fresh cubes, it comes out cold, integrated, and full-bodied. Built over ice, the fruit would sit unevenly and the drink would lose its polish.
What You'll Need
For one Bull Run:
- 2 oz Bourbon
- 2.5 oz Blackberry mix (blackberry, lemon, simple syrup, mint)
Ice: Cubed
Glass: Rocks
Garnish: Lemon wedge and mint
Pro tip: When you make the blackberry mix, muddle the fruit and mint together gently and give it a fine strain. You want the color and the dark berry flavor without seeds or pulp clouding the drink. A clean, well-strained mix is what keeps the Bull Run rich but polished rather than muddy.
How to Make It
Prep time: 3 to 4 minutes
Skill level: Easy
- Fill a rocks glass with cubed ice.
- Add the bourbon and blackberry mix to a shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake well until cold and fully combined.
- Strain into the prepared glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with a lemon wedge and mint, and serve.
Using Barsys Cocktail Machine?
The Bull Run is a shaken drink, which puts it in the Shaker Pro's hands. The illuminated base guides each pour, signalling exactly when to start and stop, so the bourbon and the blackberry mix land in the right proportion, accurate to under a millilitre. In a two-part drink like this, that ratio is everything: too much mix and the bourbon disappears under the fruit, too little and it turns thin.
Then the Shaker Pro does the work the drink is built around. A firm shake from the built-in motor pulls the dark blackberry, lemon, and mint evenly through the bourbon and gives the Bull Run its cold, full-bodied texture, no uneven fruit, no guesswork. Guided on the pour, shaken to a polished finish, and portable enough to make the same drink on a terrace as behind a bar. For a rich, shaken cocktail, it's the tool that gets both the measure and the motion right.
For the full recipe, download the Barsys App.
Tasting Notes
The Barsys Edge
A bourbon-and-fruit drink lives on balance between the two. The blackberry can easily take over, and once it does, the bourbon becomes a passenger and the drink slides toward sweet. Pull the fruit back too far and you lose the richness that makes it worth ordering. The margin between deep and cloying is narrow, and by hand it shifts with every pour.
Barsys holds that line. The guided pour keeps the bourbon and blackberry mix in exact proportion, and the shake pulls them together evenly, so the drink comes out rich, bright, and balanced every time. In a cocktail defined by the tension between spirit and fruit, keeping that tension steady is the whole craft.
Sip Setting
The Bull Run is an evening drink, the one for richer moments and slower company, the darker half of the pair that opens the selection. It has enough fruit to feel generous and enough bourbon to feel serious, which makes it the pour for someone who wants a cocktail with a bit of gravity. Following the crisp, pale G Slide, it shows the menu can go from light to deep without missing a step.
Garnish Game
A lemon wedge points to the citrus cutting through the fruit and lets a guest sharpen the drink to taste, while the mint lifts the aroma and echoes the fresh note running under all that dark berry. Together they keep a rich, dark drink from looking heavy, adding brightness to the glass the way they do to the sip. A considered finish for a considered cocktail.
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FAQs
What is a Bull Run?
A bourbon cocktail made with bourbon and a blackberry mix of blackberry, lemon, simple syrup, and mint, shaken and served over ice in a rocks glass.
What does it taste like?
Rich and fruit-forward, led by dark blackberry and cut with lemon, over a warm bourbon base with a fresh lift of mint. Deep but bright, not sweet.
What bourbon works best?
A softer, vanilla-forward bourbon complements the blackberry beautifully. A higher-rye bourbon adds more spice and edge if you want the drink to lean bolder.
Can I make the blackberry mix ahead?
Yes. It holds better than a cucumber mix, but strain it well and keep it chilled. Fresh blackberries and mint give the cleanest, brightest flavor.
Can it be batched for a party?
The blackberry mix batches cleanly, then shake each drink to order for the best texture. The Shaker Pro handles both the guided pour and the shake one drink at a time.