Thirsty Thursday: “Dew” Bourbon

As I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog, I rarely buy full bottles of booze because we so rarely drink anything other than beer around the house.  When I want to test out a cocktail, I typically pick up a few 100mL “shooter” bottles of whatever liquers & spirits I need to make 1-2 drinks for The Hubs & I.  Soo…when I buy a FULL bottle of something…it lingers.  FOR-EV-ER.

And such is the case for the King Cake vodka that I picked up around Mardi Gras this year.  However, I’m not really minding, because it’s a pretty tasty libation.  It’s very sweet & sort of almond-y, with a little bit of cinnamon burn.  And it mixes really well---but surprisingly, I find that it works best with pineapple.  Which was nice for making some “boozy pineapple” for our Memorial Weekend float trip…

But what about when we’re not floating on one of Missouri’s hundreds of beautiful rivers?  What if I just need a quick “throw-together” cocktail for after a hard day’s work, so that I can relax for a few minutes on our back porch before starting to do my “second” job, scheduling social media posts and ordering inventory for The Scoop?  Something slightly bubbly, light & refreshing…and something with a bit of caffeine as a pep-me-up…  And maybe something that could *almost* be considered healthy, since you’re watching your girlish figure.

Well…true to the fashion of a retired Girl Scout—you use what’s handy.  Such as fresh squeezed orange juice…and Diet Mountain Dew.  And thus, the “Dew Bourbon” was born.  The name seemed clever to me; a play on both “Rue Bourbon” in New Orleans, and the caffeine (and booze…LOTS of booze) that inherently necessary to tackle (or “do”) the Carnivale of Craziness that is Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras. 
Personally, I barely like Bourbon Street during normal times of the year; it’s got a unique funk made up from several hundred years’ worth of vomit, urine, Yankee sweat, and eau du shame that no amount of nightly hosing down can seem to get rid of.  And yet… it’s still one of those things that you sort of have to do once in your life, as a rite of passage or some such nonsense, for no other reason than to say you’ve done it and then you never have to do it EVER AGAIN.  You can visit the rest of the French Quarter, shop in quaint antiquieries and charming local shops like Fleurty Girl, or peruse the aisles of the French Market while chewing on a stalk of sugar cane or finishing your café au lait from Café du Monde.  You can wander until you find the Green Goddess and try their Uh-MAZE-ing Bacon Sundae.  But when your nostrils start to tingle as the faintest hint of Bourbon’s signature stank drifts past them…you can turn, and walk into GW Fins or Oceana, or Deanies, or the Royal House. Basically anywhere NOT on Bourbon. 
*steps off soapbox*
Ahem.  Sorry.  ON TO THE COCKTAIL!!!

INGREDIENTS:
2 shots King Cake vodka
Juice of one orange
1/4-1/2 can of Diet Mt. Dew

DIRECTIONS:
Mix the juice & vodka over ice & stir well.  Then add Mt. Dew to taste.  It really just depends on how much fizz you like.  Then kick back & enjoy!