Bourbon Riki

A Vero Beach bar collaboration yielded this very refreshing cocktail we named Bourbon Riki after Riki, our original bourbon drinking inspiration

The story behind Bourbon Riki

When BB and I travel, we like to visit bars. Usually, it's a local bar, nightclub, joint, sometimes it's just the hotel bar. I love to meet and talk with people, from the area, or in the case of most hotel bars, not from the area. Get their story. What they think about their hometown, or why are they there - not at home. And if there's entertainment, all the better because if you know me, you know I LOVE to dance.

On a recent trip to Vero Beach Florida, we met a lovely couple in the hotel lounge/bar, Riki and her husband Paul. They were traveling from North Carolina and that being BB's next stop on his wine sales road trip, he was interested in talking to them about what's up in NC. And being a wine sales road warrior, he is always interested in "do you drink wine" and to follow that up with "did you grow up with wine".

"Oh hells no" responds Riki "I was raised in the south, where we were raised on bourbon." Wine came later into their lives. BB, having been raised by parents from Texas and Ohio, was also raised in a bourbon home. So the conversation turns from wine to bourbon. And bourbon drinks.

The "Baker Manhattan" is a mainstay holiday drink. Or Sunday drink. An interesting combination of bourbon, vermouth, and bitters, served with an olive. Handed down from father to son, Trevor is now a pro at making them.

Riki tells us one of her favorite drinks is bourbon and cranberry juice. Hmm? That sounds like a strange combination. So we order one from our bartender Rachael, who, in all her years of bartending, had never had anyone ever order bourbon and cranberry.

We taste. We think.

"I think it needs something citric, lime juice I think," I say.

Rachael adds a squeeze. It's better.

"I think it needs some bitters," says BB.

Rachael adds a dash of bitters. It's good.

So that is how Bourbon Rikki came to be.

And of course, as all good recipes start, on a napkin...right?

I think these would be perfect with the perfect bar food of Spicy Nuts. 

LindySez: I made this recipe to test right from the napkin. Gotta do our research, right? It's good but after making it, shooting it, and thinking about drinking it, I added a splash of sparkling water. And I liked it better with the sparkle. So that's how the first variation was found for you! The second one I haven't tested, but it sounds good. If you test it, let me know!