OnMilwaukee.com and Maker's Mark® have partnered for a special promotion all October called "Paint The Town Red." We selected 10 of Milwaukee's best mixologists, asked them to share their trademark bourbon recipes, and now, we're giving you a chance to vote for -- and win $50 from -- one of their respective bars. Our job during this month was fun, too: we sampled each of the cocktails and are happy to tell you all about them.
To enter to win, just click here and vote for your favorite recipe. And make sure to visit these 10 bars and try these most unique of Maker's Mark cocktails, too. You'll be glad you did!
The Last Rose of Summer
2 ½ parts Makers Mark Bourbon
1 part apricot rose syrup
1 part fresh sour
1 egg white
5 dashes of peach bitters
¼ part Hum Botanical Spirit®
Garnish with a lemon peel
Mix all ingredients and dry shake (no ice). Add ice and shake again. Strain in to a Collins glass and garnish with a candy rose petal or with a lemon peel.
As summer goes
And leave me
With a tear in my eye
I'm taking out my winter clothes
My garden knows what's wrong
The petals of my favorite rose
Be in the shadows dark and long
So sang Tom Waits about the end of summer on his 1993 record, "The Black Rider."
Summer was definitely a thing of the past when I tasted Mathias Simonis' drink named in homage to the Waits tune at Distil, 722 N. Milwaukee St. The frothy, fruit-forward concoction was a revelation -- my favorite drink of a long evening of cocktail samples.
Don't let the apricot rose syrup and peach bitters fool you, while this rose drink is fruity, it's not as cloyingly sweet as you might expect and the bourbon shines through.
We sat down to some cheese and charcuterie sampler plates at Distil and "The Last Rose of Summer" was a comforting accompaniment as a cool wind blew, right outside the door.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
