An absolutely fantastic presentation by gung ho Bend Spirit Club member Melodie, the Whiskey Cocktails tasting was informative, memorable, and practically useful for daily (weekly, monthly, life-long) Manhattan mixology with a surprisingly pleasing introduction of the Mint Julep to round out the evening.
Manhattan
2 ounce rye whiskey
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
1 dash Angostura Bitters
Stir with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.
You can use bourbon whiskey instead of rye.
Our thanks to various sources including Wikipedia: Manhattan (cocktail)
Origin and history
A popular history suggests that the drink originated at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the early 1870s, where it was invented by Dr. Iain Marshall for a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill, Winston’s mother) in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. The success of the banquet made the drink fashionable, later prompting several people to request the drink by referring to the name of the club where it originated — “the Manhattan cocktail.” However, Lady Randolph was in France at the time and pregnant, so the story is likely a fiction. The original “Manhattan cocktail” was a mix of “American Whiskey, Italian Vermouth and Angostura bitters”.
However, there are prior references to various similar cocktail recipes called “Manhattan” and served in the Manhattan area. By one account it was invented in the 1860s by a bartender named Black at a bar on Broadway near Houston Street.
An early record of the cocktail can be found in William Schmidt’s “The Flowing Bowl”, published in 1891. In it, he details a drink containing 2 dashes of gum, 2 dashes of bitters, 1 dash of absinthe, 2/3 portion of whiskey and 1/3 portion of vermouth.
The following are other variations on the classic Manhattan:
- A Rob Roy is made with Scotch whisky.
- A Perfect Manhattan is made with equal parts sweet and dry vermouth.
- A Brandy Manhattan is made with brandy rather than rye.
- A Ruby Manhattan is made with port rather than vermouth.
- A Metropolitan is similar to a brandy manhattan, but with a 3-to-1 ratio of cognac or brandy to vermouth.
- A Cuban Manhattan is a Perfect Manhattan with dark rum as its principal ingredient.
A Latin Manhattan is made with equal parts of white rum, sweet and dry vermouth, and a splash of Maraschino cherry juice, served up with a twist.
A little something about Vermouth
Fortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage (usually brandy) has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it. Many different styles of fortified wine have been developed, including port, sherry, madeira, marsala, and vermouth.
Martinis started as mostly vermouth, then progressed to be less sweet.
The lineup for the evening
Whiskeys: Jim Beam Rye, Gentleman, Wild Turkey Bourbon, Lismore Scotch
Vermouth: LeJon, Dolin
Bitters: Fee Brothers Original, Orange, Angostura
Mint Julep
2 ounce bourbon whiskey
4 whole sprigs mint
2 teaspoon sugar
Garnish: Mint sprigs dusted with powdered sugar.
Muddle in a cocktail shaker until the sugar is dissolved and the mint is blended in. Add ice, and then shake well. Strain into a glass filled with shaved ice.
This is the fairly quick & easy way to make one. If you want to go all out, you would muddle the mint and sugar in your silver julep cup, add some finely curshed ice, and then your bourbon. Stir well to chill and cover the glass with frost, then add more ice to mound it up in the glass, and garnish with several sprigs of mint, and a dusting of powdered sugar.
History
The origins of the mint julep are clouded and may never be definitively known. The first appearance of a mint julep in print came in a book by John Davis published in London in 1803, where it was described as “a dram of spirituous liquor that has mint steeped in it, taken by Virginians of a morning.” However, Davis did not specify that bourbon was the spirit used. The mint julep originated in the southern United States, probably during the eighteenth century. U.S. Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky introduced the drink to Washington, D.C., at the Round Robin Bar in the famous Willard Hotel during his residence in the city. The term ‘julep’ is generally defined as a sweet drink, particularly one used as a vehicle for medicine. The word itself is derived from Arabic and Persion words meaning rose water. Americans enjoyed not only bourbon based juleps during the nineteenth century, but also gin based juleps made with genever, an aged gin. However, bourbon based juleps have recently decisively eclipsed gin based juleps.
