My niece, whom I affectionally call Sweet Pea turned 21 this year. I still can’t wrap my head around the one who made me an Aunt being 21; but here we are. Anyhoots, now that she’s legal, she wants me to make her a cocktail.

She’s new to drinking, I think. An aunt’s blindness knows no bounds 😊 I know she’s had alcohol since turning 21, heck I’ve served her rose’ at my house, after her birthday thank you very much. She attends college in the south and I’m pretty sure she’s tasted a local fave that is uber sweet. She likes sweet drinks like her mother and loves all things apple. Challenge accepted! She also loves kombucha, so I thought I’d add that into the mix to tame the sweetness. Instead of kombucha though, I made an apple shrub and wowzer, it is good.

With all these ingredients floating in my head, I started to mentally prepare for her first sip of bourbon. Before I gave her the cocktail however, I had her try two bourbons neat. Her reaction to the brown nectar of goodness was hilarious. She is not a fan - philistine. My sister reminded me that I didn’t start drinking until I was WELL into my 40s. Sisters can be so harsh, lol. I guess the adage is true, you have to learn to crawl before you walk. I started with wine before I moved onto spirits. We quickly left the neat bourbon on the table and moved to the cocktail.

This she liked. A lot!

I like shrubs but they can overpower a drink, especially if I made it heavy on the vinegar, which this one was. I went with a higher proof bourbon to balance out the vinegar. I macerated apples to use as a garnish and to add true sweetness.

Wrap up: not sure Sweet Pea is going to become a bourbon drinker; but I’m not giving up hope. And now that she’s legal I have more cocktails for her to taste – crawl before you walk!

Cheers,

~Kimberly Elise

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