It has been a while since I concocted a libation inspired by my location. When I found a Texas-distilled bottle of bourbon in Houston and a Louisiana-distilled liqueur in New Orleans, I knew I had my next recipe.

Yellow Rose Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey is made in Houston from 100% corn, aged for six months in small American oak barrels. It received the Double Gold Medal and Best in Class in 2013 from the American Distilling Institute, and a Double Gold Medal in 2013 from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Yellow Rose Distilling makes three products: Outlaw Bourbon, a straight rye whiskey, and a blended whiskey. The Outlaw is purportedly the smoothest of the bunch; the distiller describes it as a rich caramel and vanilla nose, slightly sweet and extremely rich palate, and long, maintaining caramel and vanilla finish.

I always taste-test a liquor before it becomes part of a cocktail. Preparing to make my first Tex-Orleans, I broke open the Yellow Rose. I found the bourbon to be very harsh, with a medicinal aftertaste!

Rut ro.

Moving on to the Bayou Satsuma Rum Liqueur, it is distilled and bottled in Lacassine, Louisiana. According to distiller Louisiana Spirits, “An agricultural gem brought to Louisiana by Jesuits in the 18th century, Satsumas are the Mandarin oranges of the South.” In my travels through Louisiana I certainly have seen a lot of Satsuma-flavored products, so I was excited to try this liqueur.

How can you go wrong with Satsuma juice and sugar cane? I immediately enjoyed the liqueur over ice. The primary flavor was Satsuma and not rum. I had been concerned about mixing rum with bourbon for this cocktail, but that is not a problem with this liqueur.

No, the problem with this cocktail is the bourbon. After mixing equal parts of Satsuma and Yellow Rose, the Yellow Rose dominated the flavor profile. So, I tried mixing one part Outlaw with two parts Satsuma. That helped, but not enough.

Returning to the original recipe of equal parts on the liquors, I added a splash of orange juice. Still, the Everclear-like strength of the bourbon broke through, and not in a good way.

I rummaged around in the bar, also known as the ottoman, to see what else I could add. I settled on almond syrup, which I use in Mai Tais.

Finally, a drinkable adult beverage!

The Tex-Orleans Recipe:

2 shots Bourbon (I used Yellow Rose, but a sweeter bourbon like Maker’s Mark would probably be better)

2 shots Bayou Satsuma Rum Liqueur

2 capfuls almond syrup

Splash OJ

Pour all over ice in a rocks glass.