I’ll never forget the first place I tried a Lynchburg Lemonade. It was at a barbecue restaurant in Times Square called Virgil's Real Barbecue. While Virgil’s is located in Times Square, the biggest tourist trap in NYC, it’s actually a very awesome place to eat with good drinks.

Last night as I was thinking about what drink I wanted to pair with beef tacos, the only thing that came to mind was a Lynchburg Lemonade. While I have a few bourbons at home to choose from Maker’s 46 was the clear winner with the smoky, honey, and vanilla aromas.

The original Lynchburg recipe has a bit of drama attached to it. The original is made with Jack Daniel’s Whiskey and it’s named Lynchburg Lemonade because that’s where the whiskey is made. A restaurateur in Alabama named Tony Mason created the original cocktail in 1980 and sued Jack Daniels for not giving him any credit for the drink.

Basically, my version of the cocktail is more high end due to the Maker’s 46 and Cointreau. I also didn’t use sour mix which is common in the traditional recipe. You don’t need that mess for this one, a good lemon juice is just fine. That being said don’t just use any lemon juice if you aren’t going to juice your own lemons. I used Sicilia which is from Italy and non GMO.

The cocktail will rock you. It can be used to pair with so many delicious things, because it taste like just like lemonade with a very nice kick to it. I like to call my variation Maker’s c 46. In this case, lemonade is spelled in French as a node to the barrels containing seared French oak staves Maker’s 46 is aged in and due to the Cointreau.

Maker’s Limonade 46

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ounces Maker’s 46

• 1 ounce Cointreau

• 1 ounce lemon juice

• 4 ounces Sprite

Directions:

1. Pour the Maker’s 46,Cointreau, and lemon juice into a glass filled with ice.

2. Top with Sprite

3. Stir well. Enjoy.