Manhattan Project

One of my favorite cocktails is the Manhattan. (Despite the fact that some friends once managed to tip one into my Apple Powerbook. Laptops and cocktails do not go together, let me tell you.) I am at this very moment drinking a Manhattan. Like the Martini, the Manhattan is still good despite an almost infinite number of slight variations. Of course, if one wanders too far from the basics, it's not the same cocktail anymore, but you can adjust the proportions, vary the brand of the ingredients, fool around with the ingredients, and still have something wonderful.

Obviously, this is why the Manhattan and the Martini are the universally recognized and approved cocktails, for a long time the solitary survivals from the great age of the cocktail in the early to mid 20th century. They are durable and likely to please regardless of the resources available. And virtually any bartender can make you one that won't be a disaster, a significant advantage in this age of syrupy sweet, oversized atrocities. Which is not to say I haven't had some bad Martinis, like the one that arrived warm and without any vermouth.

My favorite Manhattan recipe involves:

2 oz. Maker's Mark bourbon
1 oz. Cinzano sweet vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash Angostura Orange bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and add a cocktail cherry, preferably one soaked in whisky or brandy.

But I also like them with rye, the original formulation, and I don't suppose I've ever really had a bad Manhattan - even blended whisky can't mess up the basic formula. Canadian Club is best if you're on a budget, or obviously something like Crown Royal or Chivas Regal will work fine.

Many people, by the way, will skip the bitters (two dashes of Angostura are traditional), or add maraschino cherry juice. Such people should be avoided, for they stray from the path of righteousness. A few drops of the juice getting into the drink won't hurt anything, mind. I learned the Angostura and orange bitters variation from Eric Felten's column in the Wall St. Journal, How's Your Drink, by the way.

Here's a recent post from a favorite cocktail blog on the topic. The writer also likes Maker's Mark as the base spirit. And this mini-tutorial from Robert Hess' Cocktail Spirit Internet TV program is worthwhile.