After sampling ten craft rickey cocktails from San Francisco's top bartenders, our readers have spoken, and we have a winner! Monarch's Fred Acebo swept the competition with his "Banning Rickey" cocktail, a distinct remix of the traditional rickey recipe with notes of grapefruit and a spoonful of absinthe, creating unexpected layers of flavor that play well against the cocktail's Cointreau foundation.

Head over to Monarch and ask Acebo to whip up the Banning Rickey for you, or follow the directions below to mix it at home and show off your cocktail-making skills.

Mixologist Fred Acebo - Monarch

The Cocktail: Banning Rickey

Note from Acebo: "The rickey is a simple, classic cocktail. My approach to creating the Banning Rickey was to maintain its simplicity. The word 'banning' is a nod to the use of absinthe in the cocktail, referencing a time when absinthe was banned to the public."

Recipe:

1 ounce Cointreau

1 ounce Bols Genever

1/2 ounce lime juice

1 teaspoon of Pernod Absinthe

2 dashes Angostura bitters

2 dashes grapefruit bitters

Seltzer Sisters soda water

Garnish: thinly sliced lime wheels

In a bucket glass, add Cointreau, Bols Genever, lime juice, and both bitters. Add ice cubes and stir ingredients. Top with soda water and garnish with lime wheels.