BLOG: THE PERFECT MANHATTAN
We met behind the bar five years ago and after discovering our mutual love of flip-flops, 1969 Corvette convertibles, Garth Brooks, Dostoevsky, and, of course, whisky, we swiftly became the best of friends. Last summer, we published our first novel together, The Perfect Manhattan. While on our nation-wide book tour, the question on everyone’s lips – from Louisville to Los Angeles – has been the same: what are the ingredients in our perfect Manhattan?
The answer is simple: a townhouse overlooking Central Park, a sprawling estate in the Hamptons, a G-4, and a chauffeur-driven hybrid (to compensate for the private jet)! But if it’s a delicious drink recipe you’re after, we’ve got you covered. Back when we first started slinging drinks, we found ourselves drowning in a sea of Cosmopolitans and other sticky, pink, sickeningly sweet, so-called “girly drinks.” Avid whisky drinkers, we set out to prove that not all girls like their drinks served with a tiny paper umbrella.
We decided to help initiate a cocktail renaissance and give some old-fashioned cocktails a delicious makeover. Since we were tending bar in New York City and our spirit of choice is whisky, our first challenge was a no-brainer: we set out to perfect the Manhattan and give it a modern twist. A tasty Manhattan MUST start with a quality whisky, and in this case our bourbon of choice is Maker’s Mark, because it’s smooth and very mixable (on one leg of the book tour we made it down to the Maker’s Mark distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, and had a ball tasting moonshine and dipping our own bottles in red wax). Next, we add only a dash of sweet vermouth – no more! This isn’t your grandpa’s Manhattan, and we find the majority of our generation has a low tolerance for vermouth. After lots of taste tests, we decided to skip the bitters altogether. And now for the secret ingredient – a liberal splash of maraschino cherry juice, which softens the bourbon and gives the cocktail a warm, reddish-brown color. We stir over ice and serve on the rocks. Finally, we garnish with a plump maraschino cherry. And there you have it, our “perfect” Manhattan. Now if only someone would give us a couple of penthouses on Fifth Avenue…
We met behind the bar five years ago and after discovering our mutual love of flip-flops, 1969 Corvette convertibles, Garth Brooks, Dostoevsky, and, of course, whisky, we swiftly became the best of friends. Last summer, we published our first novel together, The Perfect Manhattan. While on our nation-wide book tour, the question on everyone’s lips – from Louisville to Los Angeles – has been the same: what are the ingredients in our perfect Manhattan?
The answer is simple: a townhouse overlooking Central Park, a sprawling estate in the Hamptons, a G-4, and a chauffeur-driven hybrid (to compensate for the private jet)! But if it’s a delicious drink recipe you’re after, we’ve got you covered. Back when we first started slinging drinks, we found ourselves drowning in a sea of Cosmopolitans and other sticky, pink, sickeningly sweet, so-called “girly drinks.” Avid whisky drinkers, we set out to prove that not all girls like their drinks served with a tiny paper umbrella.
We decided to help initiate a cocktail renaissance and give some old-fashioned cocktails a delicious makeover. Since we were tending bar in New York City and our spirit of choice is whisky, our first challenge was a no-brainer: we set out to perfect the Manhattan and give it a modern twist. A tasty Manhattan MUST start with a quality whisky, and in this case our bourbon of choice is Maker’s Mark, because it’s smooth and very mixable (on one leg of the book tour we made it down to the Maker’s Mark distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, and had a ball tasting moonshine and dipping our own bottles in red wax). Next, we add only a dash of sweet vermouth – no more! This isn’t your grandpa’s Manhattan, and we find the majority of our generation has a low tolerance for vermouth. After lots of taste tests, we decided to skip the bitters altogether. And now for the secret ingredient – a liberal splash of maraschino cherry juice, which softens the bourbon and gives the cocktail a warm, reddish-brown color. We stir over ice and serve on the rocks. Finally, we garnish with a plump maraschino cherry. And there you have it, our “perfect” Manhattan. Now if only someone would give us a couple of penthouses on Fifth Avenue…
posted by WhiskyChicks at 10:00 AM
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