You ever get the feeling your phone or computer is listening to you? You mention something once and then start getting ads for it all the time. That's what led to us trying the bourbon spritz this week. 

My dad found the recipe for this drink from Maker's Mark and said we should try it sometime. Over the next few days I kept seeing sponsored posts on social media from Maker's Mark showing how to make this drink. But it clearly worked because my dad went out and bought all the ingredients to put together this delicious cocktail. 

I'm a fan of the flavors of bourbon, but sometimes you want something a little lighter and sweeter also. This is the perfect cocktail for that. You get the bourbon as the base liquor, but add in Aperol, Prosecco, some juices and sweeteners and boom! A great drink for happy hour. 

Ingredients
1.5 oz. Maker's Mark
1 oz. Aperol
3/4 oz. lemon juice
Splash of simple syrup
Prosecco
Orange peel for garnish

Directions
1. Fill a wine glass with ice. Add Maker's Mark, Aperol, lemon juice and simple syrup. 
2. Top with Prosecco. Stir. 
​3. Enjoy!

I wrote my first bourbon review last week, giving you my thoughts on Buffalo Trace, a big-name brand out of Kentucky. For today's bourbon review, I'm going with a small craft distillery in Nelson County, Virginia. 

Silverback Distillery is owned by U.S. Congressman Denver Riggleman and his wife Christine. According to the origins page on their website, the women in Christine's family have always made their own alcohol. After a trip to Scotland, she decided to start making her own whiskey. 

She apprenticed at a distillery in Washington before becoming a master distiller and starting Silverback in the mountains of Nelson County. 

My parents visited Silverback while doing a tour of the breweries and distilleries along Route 151 in Nelson County. They brought back this bottle of Blackback bourbon, which we were all excited to try. 

This bourbon won the competition for Best Bourbon Under 4 Years at the 2018 New Orleans Bourbon Festival. It has also been rated a 94/100 by Cigar & Spirits in 2017, so there were some high expectations. 

Now remember, my bourbon tasting skills aren't that great, but good enough to know if I like something, and this bourbon lived up to my expectations. It had a smoky aroma and an equally smoky taste. It was a stark contrast to the Buffalo Trace, which was smooth and sweet, but still very good. 

Their website describes it as having notes of vanilla and oak. I definitely got the oak notes, but not much vanilla when I tasted it. I liked the smokiness that I tasted, and I would definitely recommend this bourbon to anyone looking to try smaller distilleries. 

​Rating: 8/10

Bear with me as you read this bourbon review as it's the first that I've done. I've done a few beer reviews and some cocktail recipe posts, but this is the first time I'll be reviewing a bourbon. 

My palate and tasting abilities are not fully developed, so I'll do my best to describe what I tasted from this bourbon. 

Buffalo Trace is one of the most widely available bourbons, but due to it's affordability and quality, it has skyrocketed in popularity, making it hard to find in certain areas. My parents are never able to find it at any of the ABC stores around Harrisonburg, but I never have any trouble finding a bottle at liquor stores in D.C. 

With a suggested retail price of around $25, it's a great choice for someone who is just getting into bourbon and wants to try a good product. However, you'll have a hard time finding it for that price, and could end up paying around $34 to $50 for a bottle. 

Buffalo Trace is made with a low-rye mash bill that is roughly 10 percent rye. This makes it a sweeter, smooth bourbon. 

And that's exactly what I got when I tasted it. Smooth and sweet. I told you I'm not great at detecting flavors yet, but I'm working on it. For now all i know is that this is a very smooth bourbon that is easy to drink, and is great for someone who is starting to enjoy whiskey. 

I haven't tried too many bourbons, but I can tell that this is one of my favorites out of the ones that I have tried. 

Rating: 8/10​