This is the New Year's cocktail just attempted: muddled clementine, ginger beer, bourbon,maraschino cherry on crushed ice. What happened?

Was it bitter? If so, maybe the clementine was sour. If that was the case some simple syrup could have smoothed it out a bit. Otherwise it sounds lishy!

Wondering if rum rather than bourbon might have worked better. And was it sweet enough?

It seemed so promising and yet It was a dismal failure! It just seemed like the flavors worked together. Any ideas about what ingredient was off or what I could have added to even out the taste?

Sounds good. Was it?