Manhattan

If you read the About page on this blog, you’ll see that part of the original idea was to index and categorize a bunch of recipes for my own access. Last night I was entertaining and realized that the blog is sadly empty of the classics, so for at least a couple of weeks I’ll be putting up some classic cocktails. If you’re new to cocktails, these are drinks you have to try. If you’re a seasoned mixologist, how long has it been since you had one?

I’ll start with the Manhattan, my favourite drink. I can’t really point out why, but there isn’t any other drink which is quite the same. It’s all a matter of taste, I suppose.

As to the origins, nobody knows for sure who the inventor was. Although various similar recipes had been around for decades under the name Manhattan, the current incarnation became well known in the early 1870’s, when it was served at a banquet held at the Manhattan Club, in New York. This event marked the current recipe as the Manhattan cocktail.

Recipe:

2 oz. Rye Whiskey or Bourbon
1 oz. Italian Vermouth
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Garnish with Maraschino Cherry

Stir the ingredients until ice-cold, and pour into a cocktail glass. Add the cherry and enjoy

Notes:

A drink that never lets me down and is a faithful standby when in doubt. Rye whiskey is difficult to come by here, so it’s usually a Bourbon drink for me. Also, the proportions are not set in stone, and people have different preferences. Personally, I like the vermouth to shine through, making the drink slightly sweeter.

Finally, some people add a little of the liquid in the cherry jar for sweetness. If I do it, it’s never more than a teaspoon.

Rating:

- Perfection in a glass.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 26th, 2007 at 4:11 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.