Goes down easy

Tired of all the artisanal dashes of this and exotic muddlings of that? Cleanse your palate with Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co.'s Old Forester Bonded Bourbon & Water. Just two ingredients, this refreshingly simple mix ($8) tastes like a lesson in drunk physics. Pour a shot of bourbon into a tall glass, fill to the rim with cold water and ice, and presto chango, booze that previously went down hard and biting transforms into the smoothest of nightcaps. This is how they take their evening drink in Scotland, so order up a round and imagine the winds whipping through the Highlands. Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co., 1630 S Street; (916) 442-4885; www.hookandladder916.com.