Herein lies the start to our evening… five recipes and a small arsenal of ingredients!
It’s the Manhattan Olympics! Gold, Silver and Bronze are at stake and we needed to try all the recipes to decide a victor. I took a night for some due diligence and practiced my Manhattan techniques on a focus group.
I gathered together a core group of adventurous drinkers (or maybe they’re just drunks) and worked off the classic recipes, taking the verdicts in a round table discussion. Results after the breakdown.
Who doesn’t love a Manhattan? That sweet, sweet nectar with such a muddled history has been served six ways from Sunday. It’s origins are debatable and one can only be sure that it derived from the Vermouth Cocktail. Whatever parallel histories may abide, a majority of savants attribute it to the Manhattan Club. History told by the victors, I suppose. What is not debatable is that a well-execute Manhattan is an unrivaled force for serious imbibers. The question being: what’s a well-executed Manhattan? How much vermouth does one use? A twist or cherry? Which bitters is best? I defer these formulas to David Wondrich and Imbibe!
The Manhattan Club’s Manhattan Cocktail:
- 1.5 oz of Bulleit Rye Whiskey
- 1.5 oz of Cinzano Rosso Italian Vermouth
- 2 dashses of Regan’s #6 Orange Bitters
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass over ice, stir, strain and garnish with a fresh lemon twist (twist over the drink to release the essential oils and rub the rim with the peel).
This recipe really does hammer home the word “balance.” It’s sweet and, shockingly, not cloyingly sweet, and it’s strong yet not overpowering. The orange bitters really does round out the taste perfectly. In a word, it’s “delicious.”
The Reverse Manhattan:
- 1 oz of Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
- 2 oz of Carpano Antica Italian Vermouth
- 1 tsp of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
- 3 dashes of Angostura
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass over ice, stir, strain and garnish with a fresh lemon twist (twist over the drink to release the essential oils and rub the rim with the peel).
That’s a lot of vermouth! Which is why I upped to the Rittenhouse, hoping the few more proof points would temper the Carpano. Nothing tempers Carpano. It’s meaty character kicks hard and the Luxardo did hedge the bitterness a bit, but the varied profiles of the two just did not duet well. That’s probably my fault; a less bitter vermouth should be considered for this formula.
William Schmidt’s Formula:
- 2 oz of Bulleit Rye Whiskey
- 1 oz of Carpano Antica Italian Vermouth
- 1/4 tsp of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
- 1/2 tsp of Mata Hari Absinthe
- 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass over ice, stir, strain and garnish with a fresh lemon twist (twist over the drink to release the essential oils and rub the rim with the peel).
Boom! That’s a kick to all your senses. This was an olfactory juggernaut! The meaty Carpano with the herbal Absinthe and Angostura, and the sweet Maraschino? On the tongue it was no less aggressive, and the 2:1 ratio lassoed all the other ingredients and made them team players. This is one, complex drink!
The Results:
Three of my four tasters liked the Manhattan Club’s Recipe best, with the one deference being the one who loves whiskey as much as I do — he voted Schmidt’s Formula. Despite the competition between the Reverse’s elements, this was a silver medal for the most tempered drinker. Something to consider if you’re serving less zealous imbibers. In the end, all the tallies gave the Gold to The Manhattan Club’s, the Silver to William Schmidt’s, and the Bronze to the Reverse.
All the elements weren’t level, however, and this may have swayed the vote. Nor was the current standard implemented, you can find that one here.
Clockwise from top left: The beginning ingredients, the Manhattan Club’s Manhattan Cocktail, Stone trying to understand why he’s suddenly a bit crooked, William Schmidt’s Formula
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