Summer is about fresh produce and seafood, sticky heat, and cold cocktails. As summer winds down, Labor Day is the last hurrah before bidding summer farewell. And last weekend, we made sure to throw some thick steaks on the grill and bid it a proper adieu. While sitting on the back porch supervising keeping Keith company as he did so, I sipped on a refreshing blend of vanilla infused bourbon with a hint of lime and a splash of soda. This is a crisp and cool beverage with a bit of a kick, if you're not careful.
Summer Time Rickey
Rift on Senart's Oyster & Chop House Cocktail
Vanilla infused bourbon*
Juice of half a lime (the whole lime was just a tad much for me)
Club soda
1. Fill a highball glass with ice.
2. Add the lime juice.
3. Fill the glass with bourbon halfway (or less to taste).
4. Top with the soda.
5. Garnish with a wedge of lime.
6. Cheers!
* To make the infused vanilla bourbon, I added a whole vanilla bean to a bottle of Jim Beam white label and let it get cozy for about 5 days. Every day I shook the bottle. After the third day, I would either smell or taste to see if it had reach it's proper vanillaness. On the fifth day, I strained the bourbon through a coffee filter on a fine mesh strainer to capture the little seeds before pouring it back into the original bottle.
