So I get home and Mrs. Likko says she wants a cocktail as a reward for a hard day at work. Who am I to say no? She just wants a G&T. (When it’s Hendrick’s, it’s not “just” a G&T. I love that stuff.) But me, I’m in a more experimental mood, and hey, we do have the Bourbon Club going. So I figure, hey, I’ll try a Manhattan using the Eagle Trace. Before you start objecting, I’m well aware that a Manhattan is made with rye, not Bourbon. It’s not how it worked out anyway.
Because the only vermouth we have is old and sat outside the refrigerator for a while. I’m not sure I trust it. But, in our fridge I did see a bottle of Lillet Blanc. So I think to myself, “Self, you could make something new. Our man Böegiböe does it all the time. So what’s on hand — something like an Old Fashioned, maybe, or like that Manhattan. Well, we ate all our fruit that isn’t watermelon and canteloupe over the weekend. And mixers are at a rather low ebb right now other than cola and tonic water. Then I saw the Grand Mariner and said, “Hey, sailor!” The result:
- 3 oz. Eagle Rare Bourbon whiskey
- 1 oz. Lillet blanc
- 1/2 oz. Grand Marinier
- A very thin slice of lime
Served on the rocks in an Old Fashioned glass. It has kind of a beachy or tropical feel to it, and it’s a callback to a variety of French things in the American Southeast. But it needs a name. I’m not good at coming up with fanciful names — I’m like as not to call the cocktail “Javier” or something like that. Suggestions?
Bourbon Bordelais?
A Kentucky Riviera.