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 Driver
2 parts Maker's Mark Bourbon
1 part Cointreau Liqueur
1 part sour cherry syrup*
1/2 part lemon juice
Shake over ice, then strain into an up glass. Rim the glass with maple sugar* garnish with a maraschino cherry
*Sour Cherry Syrup: Equal parts water and sugar. 8 dried sour cherries per cup. Bring to a rolling boil, let boil for 1 min, remove from heat.
"The Driver" was the first cocktail I sampled and also the most drinkable. Sherman touched the orange with a flame, which brought out the aroma of the orange-flavored liqueur.
The homemade maple sugar gave the sidecar-inspired cocktail a unique taste, one that didn't mask the bourbon but didn't overwhelm its flavor, either.
In different ways, I enjoyed each of the drinks I tried during this promotion, but Sherman's creation was one of the few I could imagine sitting down and ordering a couple -- it was that good. And Champion's Pub is one of Milwaukee's most interesting bars in town -- the Driver is a perfect opportunity to reacquaint yourself with this most unique bar.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
