Once again we find ourselves surrounded by more fantastic locally made products. We introduced you once before to the Jack Rudy Cocktail Co., and here we have another product that we love and that we can't wait to get out there for you check out and sample yourselves. 

We don't think that there is much more synonymous with the South than sweet tea, and apparently the folks at Jack Rudy thought the same thing! They've released a Sweet Tea Syrup for us to play with and explore, and that's just what we did. We found that this particular syrup couldn't be more refreshing. Jack Rudy has truly captured all the great flavors of sweet tea in the syrup. 

We had so much fun trying this syrup with different combinations of sprits and other mixers. We, like many, think that the combination of sweet tea and bourbon is one of a kind. However, we couldn't help ourselves by adding a little twist to it.

Bourbon Sweet Tea Sour

2 oz Bourbon Whiskey

3/4 oz Jack Rudy Sweet Tea Syrup

1/2 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

4-6 drops Jack Rudy Aromatic Bitters

1 egg white

What You Do:

Start by placing all the ingredients in a shaking tin and "dry" shaking it for about 25 seconds. Dry shaking means shaking without ice, this helps break down the egg white. Then add ice and shake again for another 15-20 seconds. Double strain the mixture into a chilled cocktail coup and garnish with a twist of lemon. If your coups are slightly smaller, that's fine, you might be able to fill two!

The egg white will form a foam on the top of the cocktail that makes it have a great full-bodied feel and adds a wonderful creamy texture. It also gives it a slightly dry note which we thought balanced the sweetness of the syrup. 

Another variation we really like is adding about another 1/2 oz or so of bourbon and a 1/2 oz of Raspberry liqueur. We found that Clear Creek Distillery out of Portland has an amazing Raspberry Liqueur that's certainly up to the task. Like you might imagine, this invokes the flavor of raspberry sweet tea, and really who could resist?

Most importantly have fun. We plan to try it again with a Rye whiskey and see how we like that. Also substituting lemon for lime and bourbon for tequila is on the list. We'd love to know what you are doing and hear what you think about the cocktail above. And certainly check out all the amazing things that Jack Rudy has to offer. We couldn't have done this without them, so thank you so much Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. and look for more recipes to follow.