Hankshaw Hawkins Cocktail
By: Warren Bobrow
Published: July 3, 2012

The Hankshaw Hawkins Cocktail is woven around a core of All-American Bourbon Whiskey.  With the heat bubbling up from somewhere down South it only makes sense to create a cocktail with a unique refreshing twist.  This twist is ice made from perfect spring water that bubbles up from the ground just up the road apiece.  That pure ice, run through the MAVEA pitcher sitting over there on the butcher block has been infused with spearmint from the garden.  As the ice melts, the flavors of the spicy spearmint melts into this drink.  I also added FEE Brothers Mint Bitters to the ice deepening the sparkling flavor. 
I'm a real fan of Four Roses Bourbon Whiskey.  Directly in front of me is a thick, round shouldered bottle of Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey. I especially like the cork finish! Nice touch.
  Sure, it's only 10:00 AM and the heat is rising, the humidity rising and my thirst also rising.  If you've been following my writing for any length of time, you'll know that I have a powerful passion for Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth.  The label clearly reads "BEST ON THE ROCKS WELL CHILLED."  That my friends calls out to me with a huge smile. 
I love my Vermouth mixed into cocktails that include Bourbon Whiskey, served on the rocks with a twist of orange.  There is a citrus laced element in this cocktail.  Similar to an Old Fashioned where fruit is muddled into the drink, I took the fruit flavors and added a bit of char to them.  Char you say?  Yes.  Oranges are a favored flavor in my Hankshaw Hawkins cocktail.  I also like using peaches, primarily because peaches are local and plentiful going forward into the summer months.  To char your fruits you must have some kind of fire, or in a pinch a cast iron pan.  I like to grill my oranges and peaches over hard wood charcoal.  If you don't have a charcoal grill I suppose you can use that gas thing that you use to cook your dinners outside. 
I prefer the flavor of wood smoke in my grilled fruit when using them in a cocktail. 
Hankshaw Hawkins Cocktail
A perfectly delicious Fourth of July Cocktail that will tickle your fancy...
Ingredients:
Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey
Carpano Antica Formula
Grilled Oranges and Peaches - figure a couple rounds of orange and about 3 chunks of grilled peach per person
Ice from the MAVEA Water Pitcher, frozen in an ice cube tray from Williams-Sonoma.  I LOVE the KING Tray.  The cubes are two inch square and they melt oh so deliciously and slowly.
Fee Brothers Mint Bitters for the ice
Preparation:
Filter some spring water (locally gathered of course) through the MAVEA Water Pitcher System
Pour into the Williams-Sonoma King Ice Cube trays
Add about 5 drops of the Fee Brothers Mint Bitters directly into each water filled tray
Very finely chop some fresh mint (Spearmint, please) to each ice cube and then freeze as normal
Grill several rounds of oranges and chunks of peaches over hard wood charcoal
Let cool then muddle in a Boston Shaker
Add a couple cubes of regular ice to chill the Bourbon and Vermouth down
Add 2 Shots of Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey
Add 1 Shot of Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
 
Shake Shake Shake Shake Shake
Strain into a short cocktail glass with the mint infused ice, then garnish with a chunk of grilled peach or grilled orange and a big sprig of fresh mint
Danger Level 3 out of 5.  Not too dangerous, yet please drink with caution, a couple of these cocktails in the hot sun can be quite beguiling and then quite dangerous!!
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