A chance meeting at The Landing at Harbor Point turned into an unforgettable story about friendship, resilience, and why Six13's founder chose Lake Martin for its Alabama debut.
by Jamie Burnett
Responsible Enjoyment: This article is intended for adults 21 years of age and older. Please enjoy alcoholic beverages responsibly. Never drink and operate a boat or vehicle. Always designate a sober operator and follow all Alabama boating and alcohol laws.
Sometimes the best stories at Lake Martin aren’t the ones you’re looking for. They just happen.
That’s exactly what happened to me one evening at The Landing at Harbor Point.
My husband and I had just arrived enjoying the atmosphere and the warm breeze when a lady walked over, introduced herself, and handed me a beautiful white bottle I’d never seen before.
The bottle was called Six13.
She told me it wasn’t another flavored liquor, it was something special. She described it as a cocktail modifier, something designed to enhance the drink that’s already in your glass.
Lake Martin is already known for its favorite cocktails.
Bushwackers. Lake Martin Lemonade. The ones that have been around for decades. Drinks that have become synonymous with the lake.
But after one sip, I understood what she was talking about.
It didn’t take over the cocktail. It made it better.
That got my attention.
Then Karen started telling me her story.
And before long, I realized the beautiful bottle sitting on the table wasn’t nearly as interesting as the woman sitting next to me.
Karen has spent most of her life building businesses. She studied engineering at UC San Diego, built companies from the ground up, became one of the top financial advisors in the country, and always seemed to find a way to start over when life threw her a curveball.
Then came breast cancer. The dreaded C word that has affected our own family and so many others. I immediately understood that this was much more than just a drink to Karen, this was a passion. This was part of her legacy.
During treatment, wine no longer tasted the same to Karen. One of life’s simple pleasures had disappeared. Rather than accepting that, Karen became determined to recreate a flavor she had experienced years earlier, a Manhattan served with homemade black mission fig-infused whiskey. She spent years trying to unlock that memory.
Then, while celebrating her birthday beneath the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, she enjoyed a fresh fig and apple salad alongside a Manhattan. In an instant, everything clicked. Before the trip ended, she had written 186 pages of notes, sketched the bottle on a napkin, and laid the foundation for what would become Six13.
As interesting as that story was, I wanted to know something else.
“Why Lake Martin?”
Her answer had nothing to do with business.
It had everything to do with memories.
For nearly 20 years, one of Karen’s closest friends had a home on Laurel Ridge. Twice a year, Karen and a group of lifelong friends they jokingly called “The Flinkers,” short for “floaters that drink,” would gather for long weekends at Lake Martin.
The women came from all over the country.
Lake Martin was where they met.
“It was where I reset,” Karen told me. “Being with The Flinkers during some pretty hard times in my life always renewed my soul. I can’t think of a better place to introduce Six13.”
Then she told me how it all came back to Lake Martin.
Like so many things around here, it happened through relationships.
A few people tried Six13. They shared it with friends. Those friends knew other people. Before long, Alabama distributor RNDC heard about it, and gave Karen a call.
His message was simple.
“Alabama needs Six13.”
That conversation eventually led to SpringHouse becoming one of the first places in Alabama to serve it.
For Karen, that wasn’t just another account.
Years earlier, The Flinkers went to SpringHouse whenever they visited the lake. Seeing Six13 on the menu there felt like life had come full circle.
Today, the team at SpringHouse have created two cocktails featuring Six13: the La Verger Negroni and the Upstate Harvest, their take on a Manhattan.
Over at The Landing, Ashton has embraced it too with the Awesome Blossom, the Sixy Spritz, and maybe the one that’ll get the most attention around here, the Six13 Bushwacker. This might be the most exciting stop on the Bushwacker Tour around here!
Karen expects Six13 to begin showing up in Alabama ABC stores soon, making it easier for folks to take a bottle home and experiment with it themselves.
As we rode home on the boat, against the beautiful Lake Martin sunset that evening, I kept thinking about something Karen said.
She told me Six13 isn’t really about the bottle.
It’s about creating memories.
Looking out across the unsalted waters of Lake Martin, I couldn’t help but think she picked the right place. Because if there’s one thing this lake has always been good at, it’s bringing people together.
The boats will eventually head back to the dock each evening, the boaters with sunburns and memorable adventures.
The sun will set with spectacular colors of red, pink and orange.
The drinks will be gone with the ice melting along with sunset into the skyline.
But the stories, the memories that connect to a flavor, a taste that connect us… those are what stay with us long after the glass is empty.
Around here, we don’t just remember the drink. We remember who we were with, where we were sitting, and the stories that were told. I have a feeling Six13 is about to become part of a few more of those stories.
You can be part of the excitement on Sunday June 28th, this weekend. Meet Karen at The Landing at Harbor Point and try the new cocktails at her SIX13 tasting.
Responsible Enjoyment: This article is intended for adults 21 years of age and older. Please enjoy alcoholic beverages responsibly. Never drink and operate a boat or vehicle. Always designate a sober operator and follow all Alabama boating and alcohol laws.
Lake Martin Boaters™ partnered with Six13™ to share their story with our community. Sponsored features help fund the free resources we provide, including boating safety updates, lake news, historical lake level and water temperature data, educational content, interactive maps, community initiatives, and the online resources that help connect boaters both online and on the water. Thank you for supporting the local businesses that help make these resources possible.
