A Manhattan of Unanticipated Excellence - November 2007
Sometimes serendipity is the best guide to the bar, I find. Like when I decided one recent night, while still hard at work, that a Manhattan would go down a treat and so went prowling through my liquor cabinet for the ingredients.
Now, normally my bourbon of choice for a Manhattan is Woodford Reserve, but on this occasion I noticed that I had a slight heel of a bottle of Rebel Yell left and more than enough Booker's to compensate for the short pour that would inevitably result. So I grabbed both, along with the bottle of Martini & Rossi red vermouth, of course, and set off for the kitchen where, in deference to the potency of the cask-strength Booker's, I constructed the cocktail over a couple of cubes of ice, rather than in a shaker to be served straight up as I normally do.
Also counter to my recently acquired habits, I didn't measure my pours this time, and so can only tell you that my Manhattan consisted of about one part Rebel Yell to two parts Booker's and one part, or maybe a bit more, of vermouth. For bitters, I used a shake each of Angostura, Fee Brothers Old Fashion Aromatic and Peychaud's. (I've been on a bit of a bitters kick lately - can you tell?) A quick stir and my drink was ready to go.
Simply, this was one of the best Manhattans I've ever tasted. Even before the ice had a chance to dilute the Booker's, the flavour was bold and balanced, reflecting perfectly the mix of vanilla and fruit and spice from the bourbon, the extra spiciness of the bitters and the winey sweetness of the vermouth. Once the ice started to melt, it only got better with the slight relief from the heat of the 63.4% alcohol Booker's that the added water provided.
Within three sips, I decided that it was time to turn off the computer and let the post-work relaxation begin.
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