March Drink of the Month - Lynchburg Lemonade

The last restaurant that Ann and I were able to visit before COVID-19 shut down the world was a tiny spot just over the border in Michigan called Fat Cam's. We love Fat Cam's for their Cajun dishes (particularly the Orleans Shrimp, covered in Worcestershire sauce and butter), and we were grateful that we had a chance to visit on a Friday in Lent and eat spicy seafood to our hearts' content. At the time of writing, we're now over a week and a half into our brave new world of coronavirus-related isolation, and thinking back to that night at Fat Cam's is making me a little emotional. I miss being about to go out, to see people, and to experience joy through new food and drink.

We've self-isolated pretty hard with Ann being pregnant. That means I'm drinking alone, if I choose to visit the bar. I'm sure I'll get more playful as our isolation stretches out, finding weird or unique ingredients on Amazon or Cocktail Kingdom. But for now, I wanted something simple and comforting. My drink this month was the last cocktail I had out in the wide world - a Lynchburg Lemonade. Fat Cam's called it something different (so that they didn't have to use Jack Daniel's), but the simple combination of lemon-lime soda, lemon, triple sec, and whiskey is easy to make and incredibly refreshing - until I ran out of lemons (I caved and bought shelf-stable lemon juice late last week). And even my pregnant, whiskey-hating wife took a (small) sip and admitted she didn't hate it. High praise from Ann!

Here is my recipe for a modified Lynchburg Lemonade. Like Fat Cam's, I should probably call it something else (since I'm not using Jack either). But why cause confusion? I'll just own that my recipe is not 100% standard... its better!

Ingredients: 2 oz bourbon (high rye content preferred), .75 oz lemon juice, .75 oz triple sec, 4-6 oz lemon lime soda (to taste).

Preparation: In a highball glass (or a mason jar if you need to feel folksy), combine the whiskey, lemon juice, and triple sec. Add ice to the top of the glass, and then top with soda. Stir to combine, and garnish with a lemon wheel.