The Manhattan

I’ve never given whiskey much thought. Aside from an occasional Irish Coffee, probably the only time I had a whiskey was when I had a shot of Bushmill’s many years ago. You see, I used to hang out at an Irish Bar in Hackensack, NJ. The night bartender was in one afternoon and wanted to by me a drink. The only catch was that I had to have a “real” drink… so, since he was buyin’, I was drinking Bushmill’s.

Oh, I just remembered after I had turned 18, that Christmas, my boss broke out a bottle of some type of canadian whisky and poured us all shots. Man, that was horrible stuff !!

So, after viewing Robert Hess’ Manhattan demonstration, I decided to try my hand at mixing one up. My only problem was what whiskey should I use? The video shows Maker’s Mark but every time I see a bottle of Maker’s Mark, I think of the cigars they licensed their name to. The ones that have the same melted red “wax” seal on the individual glass tubes. Flavored cigars are not real cigars as far as I am concerned and those cigars cheapen the Maker’s Mark brand for me.

Mixologist Jamie Boudreau likes Woodford Reserve and since I enjoy reading his blog I thought I would give it a try and buy a small bottle.

After mixing one up, I gave it a taste. I was pleasantly surprised at the sweetness I detected in the finish. Not sugary sweet, but a good contrast to the heat I felt from the whiskey. My daughter had made her way over to me and caught a whiff from the remains in the mixing tin. She said it reminded her of butterscotch. There was a slight bite to the drink as well. Again, not overpowering but it made for an interesting cocktail.

The only thing I would like to change is the cherry garnish. I used the store bought artificially processed maraschino cherries. I’ll be researching recipes for homemade cherries next.

Cheers !!