Enjoyed: Friday, March 21, 2025

Listed on the menu: Yes, on the daily specials menu, as “Cherry Old Fashioned”

Ingredients: Maker’s Mark Whiskey, Cherry Juice, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup & Bitters, stirred & garnished with an orange rind

The occasion: We love the ocean, and the Chesapeake Bay, and we try to visit as often as we can. For this visit, I wanted to stay in Virginia, but also wanted to avoid the “tourist traps” such as the Virginia Beach Boardwalk. So, we instead spent a leisurely Thursday afternoon at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, where we simply sat on a blanket for an hour and watched the waves and the birds before strolling through the refuge’s wetlands. We opted for an Airbnb in a residential part of Virginia Beach–the bay was two blocks away and First Landing State Park was a five minute drive away. So on Friday, we admired the bay and hiked through more wetlands, and we worked up quite an appetite for a “catch of the day” supper.

My rating: *** out of 5. I appreciated the effort of putting a spin on an Old Fashioned for the daily special, but the drink needed more fine tuning. The bourbon and cherry were the only two flavors that really popped out, so the drink was too sweet and fruity.

Final thoughts: Have I mentioned lately that I love living in Virginia? The mountains are in our backyard, yet we can be at the ocean in less than three hours. All the hiking opportunities are amazing.