Ladies and Gentlemen this is your Captain speaking.
This will be the start in my cocktail guide, and it is only fitting that the first entry be the very first cocktail I ever tried. In my late teens my great-uncle asked me to make him his favorite drink, and instructed me to try it to see if we had similar tastes in cocktails. The first Bourbon Manhattan I tasted had a distinct flavor of cough syrup to my unaccustomed palate, probably due to my lack of exposure to non-sugary drinks. Since that time my appreciation for hard alcohol has only increased and so too has my love of the Manhattan, though now I prefer mine with rye instead of bourbon. (Which is the technically correct ingredient)
Now that story time is over here is the recipe, I'll put my preferred brands in (parentheses) but you should choose what you like to drink.
2 oz. Rye Whisky (Rittenhouse Bottle in Bond)
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth (Martini & Rossi)
2 dashes Bitters (Angostura)
Garnish: Maraschino Cherry (Luxardo)
The correct way to prepare
Add to a mixing glass ice, rye, vermouth, and bitters
Stir in glass for sixty (60) seconds (until the outside of mix glass is cold)
Strain into drinking glass, traditionally a coup
Garnish with one (1) maraschino cherry
The way I prepare
Add 2-4 ice cubes to my drinking glass, usually a double rocks glass
Add rye, vermouth, and bitters
Stir in glass until outside is cold to my liking
Scoop one (1) maraschino cherry with some of the liquid
Give one (1) final stir
JackFactTM The recipe can be easily remembered by 212, the area code for Manhattan island. 2 oz. Rye, 1 oz. Vermouth, 2 dashes bitters.
