The Manhattan

It's hard to believe that we haven't blogged about the Manhattan yet--especially since it was probably my gateway cocktail to the world of other delicious cocktails. It's one of those drinks where you're likely to already have all the ingredients on hand (whiskey, sweet vermouth, bitters, and a cherry, if you like), but don't let the simple ingredients fool you into thinking the Manhattan is a simple drink. A good Manhattan is sweet, smooth, and vaguely herbal. It goes down too easy as many attendees of our annual February Doldrums Party can attest to. Some folks like them up, others on the rocks. Some shake a Manhattan, others stir. However, these are the finer points you can explore later.

The history of the cocktail dates back to the late 19th Century and is one of cocktails named for NYC's five boroughs. I just tried the Brooklyn and will be blogging about that experience very soon. And, of course, at some point the Bronx, the Queens, and the Staten Island Ferry will also be featured (although the Staten Island Ferry sounds retched, draw your own conclusions).

Although some prefer a perfect Manhattan (half sweet and half dry vermouth), I prefer mine with all sweet vermouth, Carpano Antica or Vya are delicious if you can get your hands on either. Also, I should confess that I like my Manhattan with bourbon--but, let's be honest, I prefer bourbon in every whiskey cocktail. However, a traditional Manhattan is generally made with rye or canadian whiskey (never brandy, Wisconsin, never brandy). For more history on the Manhattan, check out this little NYT article.

Ingredients:
2 oz whiskey (bourbon or rye)
1 oz sweet vermouth
2 dashes bitters (we used Fee Brothers, but orange bitters are also nice)
1 Luxardo cherry

Stir all liquid ingredients with ice and strain into a glass. Serve up or over ice and garnish with a cherry.

The Seelbach

I'm from Kentucky, and around here, everyone starts talking mint juleps in May, at Derby time. I have never liked mint juleps, and frankly, I don't know many people who do like them, but we all drink them on Derby Day. A couple of times, I got by with putting bourbon and ginger ale in my julep cup, but then I discovered the Seelbach cocktail. This cocktail is named for the Seelbach Hotel, where it was introduced in 1917 at its famous bar.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was once kicked out of the Seelbach for having a bit too much bourbon, and Al Capone was a regular there, as well. Movie stars and presidents have stayed there, and it's on the National Register of Historic Places. I decided that the Seelbach cocktail is an even better tribute to the beautiful city of Louisville, where the Derby takes place, and considerably more delicious than a mint julep, so now that's what I drink on the first Saturday in May.

1.5 oz bourbon
1/2 oz Cointreau
7 dashes Angostura bitters
7 dashes Peychauds bitters

Stir with ice in a mixing glass, strain into a cocktail glass or a flute glass, and top with champagne. Garnish with an orange peel.

Yes, that's 14 dashes of bitters.

The Seelbach is probably my favorite bourbon cocktail, and one of my favorite of all cocktails.

The Old Fashioned

If I had to pick my favorite cocktail, I'd say it is the Old Fashioned. There are a number of reasons for this choice: number 1, I really like bourbon and rye (you can use either of these); secondly, they are super easy to make and I almost always have all the ingredients; third, this drink was named in my hometown, Louisville, in the late 1800s. Also, I like the OF because I really don't have to measure anything. I drop a sugar cube in a glass, add a little soda water, throw in some bitters, muddle a bit, and then pour some bourbon in a glass. I only dirty the glass and the muddler, and they are quick to make. The Old Fashioned has a long history--the drink has its origins in the early 1800s and was essentially any combination of a spirit, bitters, sugar, and water. As time went on, other ingredients were added and by the 1880s, this original recipe was called the "Old Fashioned." The rumor goes that this name was given to the bourbon-based version in Louisville at a club named the Pendennis Club.

As I said, the original recipe could include rye, bourbon, whiskey, brandy, gin, and so on. In fact, in The Savoy Cocktail Book, Harry Craddock says, "This Cocktail can be made with Brandy, Gin, Rum, etc., instead of Rye Whiskey." Modern-day Old Fashioneds, though, generally use some whiskey (bourbon, rye, or plain ol' whiskey) or, if you live in Wisconsin, brandy.

That takes me to the monstrosity known as a Wisconsin Old Fashioned (see this New York Times article on the matter). The main difference with this is, of course, the brandy, but there is also the trouble with what should be seltzer water. Wisconites take their Old Fashioneds in a couple of different ways: sweet, with 7-Up instead of seltzer; or sour, with sour mix or Squirt instead of seltzer. Both versions are flat-out too sweet, because they aren't just using a splash of the 7-Up or Squirt, they top off the whole drink with that. Warning: wicked hangover in the works. This state loves these so much you can even buy them premade, in a bottle.

If this is your preferred variety of Old Fashioned, well, to each their own. I, too, came to this drink from a decidedly not old fashioned route--the fruit salad version of the Old Fashioned. These came to popularity in the 2000s and involved muddling an orange slice, a cherry, etc., in with the sugar, bitters, and soda water. I drank the OF this way for a few years before I finally took the dive and started drinking them the Don Draper way. Let's not ignore the popularity of Mad Men as an important turn in the history of the Old Fashioned. That's how I was introduced to this glorious mix. Don and I will always have this drink in common.

Anyway, to the recipe:

• 1 sugar cube (or 1/2 teaspoon loose sugar)
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters (Angostura is just a suggestion; I like orange bitters in mine, which could be Angostura Orange, Regan's Orange Bitters No. 6, or Bittercube Orange bitters)
• 2 oz spirit of choice (I am a big fan of Bulleit Rye in these, but for this one, we used Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon)
• Splash of club soda (or seltzer)

In an old-fashioned glass (get it?), add the sugar cube, bitters, and club soda. Muddle to a slurry using a muddler or wooden spoon. Add ice and bourbon or rye. Give a slight stir to the mix, but keep the slurry in the bottom. Garnish with a large orange peel.

I like bourbon and rye on the rocks, and this is just a nice extension from that. By not stirring the sugar slurry in, you get a nice kick of sweetness on the last drink. The orange from the bitters and the garnish makes it citrus-y, and the bourbon or rye gives it a nice caramel-y and vanilla flavor. This is a drink you can really make your own; you can try different bitters (but I'd stay in the aromatic or citrus families) and different spirits until you find a mix you can call your own. 

Blood and Sand

Recently, I was at a local bar, and the bartender and I were discussing mixed drinks made with Scotch. I'm a total Scotch novice, especially cocktails with Scotch, and she recommended a Blood and Sand. I had never heard of this, but since then I've noticed it in multiple cocktail books, including The Savoy Cocktail Book, which I just got today. I wanted to try something from the book, so I went with this drink.

A little history: this cocktail is named after a Rudolph Valentino movie from 1922, Blood and Sand. Valentino plays a bullfighter (hence the blood). The Wall Street Journal did a write-up of this drink and its history in 2008; check out that article here.

Just a word of advice--you should probably check to make sure you have all the necessary ingredients before you start dumping stuff in a glass. I could have sworn I had a bottle of Scotch, but nope, no such luck, so I made this one with bourbon. Oops.

The real ingredients for the Blood and Sand are:

• 1 part orange juice
• 1 part Scotch whisky (whiskey vs whisky; I used Rebel Yell Bourbon)
• 1 part Italian vermouth (red/sweet vermouth--I used Vya)
• 1 part cherry brandy (I used Cherry Heering)

Mix all ingredients in an ice-filled shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.

Now, I have no clue what this would taste like with Scotch, but I am pretty pleased with how this turned out with the bourbon. Surprisingly, it's not very sweet. Actually, it doesn't even have much of an overwhelming flavor of anything. I like it, but the next time I make this I'm going to have to get some Scotch so I know what it really tastes like. 

The Tamarind Whiskey Sour

Another drink I discovered in Portland was the Tamarind Whiskey Sour. I had one of these fabulous creatures at Pok Pok, a pretty spectacular Thai joint. Pok Pok (and their sister bar, Whiskey Soda Lounge) specialize in drinking vinegars. Honestly, I don't even really understand what these drinking vinegars are, but they are tasty. Pok Pok has multiple varieties, from apple to honey to tamarind and a bunch in between, and they use these in cocktails. You can buy a bottle of the concentrate and make your own at home. I wasn't able to find a recipe for the Tamarind Whiskey Sour anywhere, so I took a stab at recreating it myself. From the menu, I knew the ingredients were tamarind drinking vinegar, bourbon, palm sugar, and lime. Based on what I have at the house, this is what I came up with:

• 2 oz bourbon (I used Evan Williams)
• 1/2 oz tamarind drinking vinegar concentrate
• 1 1/2 oz soda water
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup (1:1 syrup)

Mix all ingredients in a old-fashioned glass, fill with ice, and serve. I garnished with a slide of lime. Honestly, I can't remember what the real thing tasted like, but this was a pretty tasty facsimile. The lime makes the whole thing refreshing, and while the tamarind isn't overpowering, you can definitely tell it's there. Buy your own drinking vinegars here and try this one yourself. Anyone who knows the real recipe, please let me know! I'd like to know how close I got to the real recipe, considering I did this 2 weeks after my trip. I also have a bottle of Jarritos Tamarind soda that I've been hanging onto to make into a cocktail, and this has given me a little encouragement to take the plunge and try something out.

Scofflaw

Ever since I started making cocktails, I have had a running list of drinks I wanted to try but had to hold off on because I didn't have any grenadine. Now, grenadine is a common ingredient, and you're probably thinking that you've seen grenadine in every liquor store, so what's the problem? Well, the bottles you see most often, usually Rose's, are really just corn syrup with red dye. Grenadine should be made out of pomegranates -- the name is actually derived from the French word for pomegranate. I have seen recipes for making my own grenadine from pomegranate juice, but not only have I not gotten around to doing that, I'm slightly reluctant, because homemade syrup has a limited shelf life, even in the refrigerator. I'll make homemade simple syrup, because if I have to throw some out, it's no big deal, but I have been more hesitant about anything that involves more pricey ingredients, and a bottle of pomegranate juice is going to make a batch of grenadine so large I would never finish it.

I have searched around and read reviews online, to see if there are any commercially-available grenadines that are made from pomegranate and have an authentic and, more importantly, tasty flavor. I read good things about Sonoma syrups, and the last time I'd been at our local liquor store (the big one) they'd started carrying some of the flavors, but no grenadine. Today, we went to the store for some gin, and I checked to see if they'd gotten the grenadine -- and they had. I felt like I finally had the key to that great big room full of cocktails that I'd put off until I acquired some grenadine!

One that I'd marked in my copy of Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails is the Scofflaw. I wanted to start here, because this cocktail has a pretty hefty dose of grenadine, and not just a dash or two. The recipe in the book calls for rye, and I do like rye -- but I don't have any at the moment, and since I was so excited to finally be holding a bottle of grenadine, I decided I didn't want to wait until someday when I get around to getting another bottle of rye. I figured it was okay to substitute bourbon, as we usually do when we're making Manhattans and we're out of rye. It was delicious!

1.5 oz rye (or bourbon)
1 oz dry vermouth
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
3/4 oz real pomegranate grenadine

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass (I double-strained through a fine mesh tea strainer, to catch any solids from the lemon juice, but it's not mandatory). Garnish with a lemon twist.

A note about dry vermouth: I was never a fan of dry vermouth until I tried Dolin. It has a lot more complex flavor than the usual dry vermouths. It will change the way you think about martinis! But that's another post...

Bourbon Renewal

Tonight's cocktail is one that Peyton brought home from Portland, the Bourbon Renewal. If you're like us, you sometimes just collect interesting liqueurs. At the risk of sounding utterly ridiculous, I insisted that we buy a bottle of creme de cassis because I have fond memories of studying abroad in France and drinking more than my fair share of Kir Royals, but that's a story for another time.

The Bourbon Renewal is the invention of Jeffery Morgenthaler, bar manager at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon. What I love about this drink is that the black currant flavor sort of rubs up against the caramel and vanilla notes in the Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon. And, at the risk of being too sweet, the lemon juice adds just the right amount of acidity and brightness to the cocktail. Needless to say, it is a new household favorite. Here are the ingredients:

2 oz bourbon (We used Four Roses Single Barrel, my favorite bourbon)
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz creme de cassis (There are a number of brands, all of them are inexpensive. We used Mathilde's Creme de Cassis.)
1/2 oz simple syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
Ice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain over fresh ice into an old-fashioned glass (or, if you're Peyton, just combine everything and stir until cold). Morgenthaler recommends garnishing with a lemon wedge, or, if in season, fresh currants, but we have been drinking them sans garnish. Salut!

The Boulevardier

Tonight's cocktail is the Boulevardier, close cousin to the Negroni. This is a classic recipe, but the particulars of this one come to you from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh, AKA Dr. Cocktail (this book is AWESOME, by the way and I highly recommend it). According to the good doctor's research, the Boulevardier first appeared in print 1927, in Harry McElhone's (ex-barman at the Plaza Hotel and owner of Harry's New York Bar) Barflies and Cocktails.

For this one, you'll need:

• 1 1/2 oz bourbon (I've used Evan Williams, which is probably one of my favorite mixing and plain old drinking bourbons, but you could use anything)
• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth (again, the Carpano is suggested, but any sweet vermouth will do in a pinch)
• Garnish: Cherry (we have some really fancy Luxardo cherries that I like to use), lemon peel, or orange slice
• Ice

Throw the bourbon, Campari, and vermouth in an ice-filled shaker. Shake until chilled and strain into a cocktail glass. Put the garnish in and enjoy.

This is basically a Negroni with bourbon instead of gin, and honestly I prefer this to the Negroni. I feel like the bourbon sweetens up the Campari, whereas the gin keeps it fairly bitter. I like both drinks though, so make sure you try 'em both and see which you prefer.

I feel like I have to come clean about the shaker business here--I rarely (and I mean rarely) use a shaker. I really only ever use one if someone is having a Martini (which I never do, but occasionally my sweetheart likes a Gibson) or if we have company and I want to be classy. I usually just put everything in an old-fashioned glass, fill it with ice, and stir until it is chilled. I will admit there is something nice about using a shaker, mainly that your drink gets COLD fast, but I tend to struggle with not making a mess. So, if you don't use a shaker, don't feel bad, because I'm right there with you.