Manhattans

[paddy-boy]

While I typically drink Whiskey straight (bourbon and Irish), I love a good Manhattan.
Any one else a fan?

 

[Oddball]

here here, too bad half the bars I go to refuse to try to make one or have to pull out a book.

 

[thedeep]

Hey, at least the bars you go to have a book! I use to bartend, in a nice, small, upscale joint with lots of old folks, and Manhattans were regular orders. For a change use sweet vermouth instead of dry.
I feel the same way about a good Old-fashion. Most bars don't even know what kind of glass it goes in. I don't know how many times I've said, "ah...you might try the old fashion glass."

 

[Benjamin Button]

Hey, at least the bars you go to have a book! I use to bartend, in a nice, small, upscale joint with lots of old folks, and Manhattans were regular orders. For a change use sweet vermouth instead of dry.
I feel the same way about a good Old-fashion. Most bars don't even know what kind of glass it goes in. I don't know how many times I've said, "ah...you might try the old fashion glass."

I always thought you were supposed to use sweet vermouth?

I love a good manhattan and love when people ask for them at the restaurant I work at. A good rye whiskey, equal parts sweet & dry vermouth, a dash of bitters, a couple drops of cherry juice (VERY LITTLE), a quick shake or stir to mix the ingredients then let it sit and chill until the shaker gets frosty on the outside. Pour and drop a cherry in and it's ready to drink.

Mmmm...

 

[paddy-boy]

5 pt Rye whiskey(jim beam rye cause that is the only one the ABC store carries)
a dash of angostura bitters
2 pt sweet vermouth
garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Stir and strain in to a Cocktail glass.
That is how I make mine.

 

[thedeep]

Oops! I switched dry and sweet. Yeah, normally sweet, so try it dry. I had one old fellow that always ordered a Manhattan dry. So, I finally tried one, it is a nice change-up. The waitresses use to wonder why I catered to the old guy so much (oh, HAD to be Old Forester). I told them, "hey, he's the richest guy in town--I'm hoping he will adopt me."

 

[ftrplt]

I'm not a bourbon "person" per se; however my friends say I make a mean Manhattan. Recipe is 4-to-5 parts bourbon (either Rebel Yell, WT, WT 101, for example), 2 parts sweet vermouth, dash cherry liquer or marachino cherry juice, dash of bitters, stir and strain. As I'm a Scotch man, I do enjoy a Rob Roy every now and then; substituting Scotch (Grants usually, a sweet single malt occasionally) in place of the bourbon. For a change of pace, I mix a Robert Burns....2 oz. Scotch, 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth, 1/4 oz. Drambuie, dash of marachino cherry juice (optional), dash bitters, stir and strain. Benedictine may be substituted for Drambuie. Makes a good evening drink. FTRPLT

 

[rick]

Love em.
Still looking to try the Rittenhouse 100 BIB ..............Ive heard great thangs.

Ive tried:
Old Overholt
WT 101 Rye
Evan Williams 1783
and Noilly Prat sweet vermouth seems to be the one I keep coming back to.

I am still gonna get some Vya and Carpano but not sure where or when thatll happen

 

[JJPHOTO]

We only make two cocktails really... dry martinis and manhattans. Martinis in the warmer months, manhattans in the colder months.

 

[paddy-boy]

We only make two cocktails really... dry martinis and manhattans. Martinis in the warmer months, manhattans in the colder months.

Those are the only two made in our house as well.
For Martinis I like Boodles gin and Noilly Prat Vermouth with three blue cheese stuffed olives.

 

[glpease]

Love em.
Still looking to try the Rittenhouse 100 BIB ..............Ive heard great thangs.

Ive tried:
Old Overholt
WT 101 Rye
Evan Williams 1783
and Noilly Prat sweet vermouth seems to be the one I keep coming back to.

I am still gonna get some Vya and Carpano but not sure where or when thatll happen

Ritterhouse is indeed vary tasty stuff, especially at the price. Last time I bought it, it was on sale at BevMo for about $16.

Last night, a friend poured some Rendezvous Rye from the High West Distillery that was stunning - very rich, with excellent body and complexity. We tasted it neat, but it would make a splendid Manhattan. For bourbon Manhattans, I gravitate towards Maker's Mark.

The Carpano Antica and Vya sweet vermouths are both superb. When I don't have either, I'll mix 1 part of Noilly Prat dry with 2 parts of Martini red, and use 1 part of this this mixture with 3 parts of Rye. When I use the Carpano or Vya, I do the Manhattan 1:4. The "better" vermouths are more assertive, so the higher proportion of Rye lets the whiskey stand up a bit more.

I tend to favor Morello cherries to the viciously sweet supermarket Maraschino bombs. If the rest of the ingredients are exquisite, it makes sense not to cloud thier wonderful flavours with so much sugar syrup.

Is it cocktail hour, yet? The sun's over the yard arm somewhere in the world. Maybe coffee is a better choice right now...

Cheers!

 

[Puff Daddy]

I tend to favor Morello cherries to the viciously sweet supermarket Maraschino bombs

Are you using jarred, sweetened Morello cherries or simply muddling fresh cherries in the glass?

I would think soaking dried Morello cherries in sweet vermouth and keeping them in the fridge would be a wonderful way to utilize the fruit in a Manhattan. I may have to make a stop at Trader Joes

 

[glpease]

I tend to favor Morello cherries to the viciously sweet supermarket Maraschino bombs

Are you using jarred, sweetened Morello cherries or simply muddling fresh cherries in the glass?

These are jarred, not overly sweet, and somewhat subtle. I think, in fact, they came from Trader Joe's.

I would think soaking dried Morello cherries in sweet vermouth and keeping them in the fridge would be a wonderful way to utilize the fruit in a Manhattan. I may have to make a stop at Trader Joes

You speak-a my language, here. That is an ab-fab idea, and one that warrants further exploration. I'm guessing that simmering the cherries in a bit of sweetened sweet vermouth might even be mo bettah. Or, go completely off the charts, and stew them in a Zinfandel port...

I know what we're doing today, Ferb...*

-glp

 

[rick]

Is it cocktail hour, yet? The sun's over the yard arm somewhere in the world. Maybe coffee is a better choice right now...
Cheers!

It is for ME !!......................Friday night, BAAAAAAABEE.
But Im suppin on Rusty Nails today.

Have a great weekend BoB !!

 

[Benjamin Button]

I tend to favor Morello cherries to the viciously sweet supermarket Maraschino bombs

You speak-a my language, here. That is an ab-fab idea, and one that warrants further exploration. I'm guessing that simmering the cherries in a bit of sweetened sweet vermouth might even be mo bettah. Or, go completely off the charts, and stew them in a Zinfandel port...

I know what we're doing today, Ferb...*

-glp

Holy cow...that sounds like an amazing idea. I found my new recipe test for the weekend.

 

[Puff Daddy]

I know what we're doing today, Ferb...*

-glp

Yes, yes I am!

 

[ftrplt]

I'll have to keep Morello cherry's in mind! Thanks, Greg!! FTRPLT

 

[Puff Daddy]

OK!

I sauntered over to Trader Joes and got a jar of whole pitted Morello cherries in a simple syrup - interesting in that the canning liquid is sweet enough to give the cherries an up front sweet character that gives way to an after tatse of rich, sour cherry. In other words the syrup isn't so sweet as to completely destroy a fine sour cherry, just give it a good edible balance. Greg is right, these cherries have body and depth of flavor and are a wonderful replacement for the standard Kool-Aid flavored maraschino.

A bottle of Woodfords reserve and a bottle of Martini & Rossi Rosso, a fairly sweet vermouth with some character. Sadly, Trader Joes had a pretty poor selection of vermouths but luckily they had the Rosso which is pretty good. I'll have to look for some of the others listed in this thread next time I'm in BevMo.

I am basically a less-is-more guy when it comes to adding something to a good grade of alcohol like a fine bourbon or scotch. I'd actually hoped to find a bold rye but there was none on the shelf so I went with the Woodfords as it is a fine stand alone bourbon and I'll certainly enjoy some neat as well as in the Manhattan. I began by dropping a couple of cherries in the bottom of a rocks glass, crushing them lightly with a spoon and then adding 1 part vermouth to 5 parts bourbon, stirring softly and then adding ice. Turned out quite nice and the wife and I enjoyed a quiet cocktail hour on the patio (sunny and low 60's today).

The sun's over the yard arm somewhere in the world.

Indeed! :cheers:


A couple of thoughts and a question for you boys:

These cherries do add a considerable depth and dimension to this cocktail and I've got to wonder just how good it could get, rehydrating dried Morellos in flavored wines. Greg mentioned a zinfandel infusion which sounds interesting but my first thought was a somewhat sweet ruby port :twisted: I could see a real depth of flavor with something like that

Service of the cocktail will definitely yield differring outcomes as well and though I'm a rocks drinker with cocktails like this I wonder how many of you prefer these up?

 

[jhuggett]

No bitters in your Manhattan PD?

I like them served up if I'm drinking singles, anything more than that I prefer on the rocks.

 

[ftrplt]

Like my martinis, straight up!! FTRPLT