I am back on the Whiskey and bourbon now that I have properly recovered from my New Orleans escapade.  A few weeks back I was able to meet with Heritage Distilling Company which is located in Gig Harbor Washington.   They make a variety of spirits and they were kind enough to share some of these goodies with me.  These spirits are amazing and the Elk Rider series of spirits includes a blended whiskey, bourbon whiskey, bourbon rye, gin, and a wheat vodka.  In my recipe today I used the blended whiskey and the bourbon whiskey to make this boozy treat.  I used tarragon simple syrup but you could basically use any herbal simple syrup that you wanted.  Also in this pretty cocktail is a soda syrup which blends very well with the spirits.  At Proof Washington a couple of weeks ago I was able to meet a company called Raft Syrup.  They produce several awesome sodas that you can use to make an awesome cocktail with little effort.  I used the Smoked Tea Vanilla soda which amped up this drink with a smoky flavor as well as a sweet flavor from the vanilla.  I cannot recommended this sodas enough especially for the home bartender.  They add sophisticated flavors to cocktails that would be somewhat difficult to create at home.  Instead of spending a ton of time replicating theses flavors it is already done for you! So, check out Heritage Distilling Company and check out Raft Syrup you will not be disappointed! Cheers!

Recipe: Smoky Elk Rider

Ingredients

1 ounce of Heritage Distilling Elk Rider Bourbon Whiskey

1 ounce of Heritage Distilling Elk Rider Blended Whiskey

¼ ounce of tarragon simple syrup (*recipe below)

1 bar spoon of Grand Mariner

1 dash of Smoked Tea Vanilla Raft Soda Syrup

1/2 cup ice or big ice cube

Garnish: Tarragon leaves

Instructions:

In a rocks glass place all ingredients

Stir mixture until it is chilled

Pour mixture into serving glass

Garnish with tarragon leaves

Yields: 1 servings

Tarragon Syrup

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup Turbinado sugar

½ cup Boiling water

6 Large, fresh tarragon leaves

PREPARATION:

Combine the sugar and boiling water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the tarragon leaves and steep in hot simple syrup for 20 minutes. Strain into a clean jar, cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks.