Friday, April 18, 2008
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere #7: Experiments with cocktails -- the Manhattan
I suppose I can blame Bart Simpson for my desire to try the Manhattan cocktail. Although I likely heard of the cocktail before, the first true memory I have of the Manhattan is in the episode of The Simpsons where Bart becomes the lackey for a bunch of local mobsters and learns to make a "superb" Manhattan.
Fast-forward to a year or two ago: I bought Bartending for Dummies and looked up how to make a Manhattan. Canadian whiskey? Check. I almost always have a bottle of Wiser's in the liquor cupboard these days. Sweet or dry vermouth? Well, other recipes I'd read suggested sweet vermouth was the way to go. I had dry vermouth, but no sweet vermouth. Angostura bitters? ... Q'est-ce que c'est? Never heard of it. It seemed to turn up in a lot of cocktail recipes, and Bartending for Dummies even specifically pointed it out as a key ingredient to have on hand for a liquor cabinet. I headed to the LCBO to find it. Nothin'. I checked the grocery store. Still nothin'. I looked online and found the producer. Okay. It definitely exists, and it's not too expensive. Now just where the hell could I buy it?
Fast-forward again to this year's Toronto Wine & Cheese Show. I discovered Angostura in the list of attending vendors, and the company's bitters would be available. I scribbled "Angostura bitters" on to my "must taste" list and then proceeded to track this elusive concoction down at the show.
"Have you ever tried Angostura bitters?" asked the mixologist at the booth.
"No. I've been looking for it for a long time," I said.
He gave me a quizzical look.
"It's available at the grocery store."
"It is? Where?"
"It's in the beverages aisle. Not in the spices aisle where you think it would be. It's usually on the top shelf."
At a trip to Sobey's last weekend, I did as the gent instructed and, to my surprise, found several bottles of Angostura bitters on the top shelf of the beverages aisle. I added a bottle of sweet vermouth to my liquor cupboard that same day.
Armed with all three of the necessary ingredients to make a Manhattan, I selected a martini glass, poured a healthy dose of Wiser's Canadian whiskey, splashed a bit (too much) of sweet vermouth and then opened the bitters. I really wanted to taste the bitters, so instead of just a dash, as the Dummies recipe suggested, I sprinkled what probably amounted to five or six dashes into the glass. Without a cocktail stirrer, I grabbed a spoon, give the liquid a quick mixing and then lifted my first Manhattan to my lips.
Sip. Pause. Cough. Too much bitters. The spices over-powered the whiskey (and that's not easily done).
I took a second sip -- this time prepared for the spices of the bitters.
"With less bitters, this would be really good."
And just like that, I have another reason to make sure there's always a bottle of Wiser's in my cupboard.
Fast-forward to a year or two ago: I bought Bartending for Dummies and looked up how to make a Manhattan. Canadian whiskey? Check. I almost always have a bottle of Wiser's in the liquor cupboard these days. Sweet or dry vermouth? Well, other recipes I'd read suggested sweet vermouth was the way to go. I had dry vermouth, but no sweet vermouth. Angostura bitters? ... Q'est-ce que c'est? Never heard of it. It seemed to turn up in a lot of cocktail recipes, and Bartending for Dummies even specifically pointed it out as a key ingredient to have on hand for a liquor cabinet. I headed to the LCBO to find it. Nothin'. I checked the grocery store. Still nothin'. I looked online and found the producer. Okay. It definitely exists, and it's not too expensive. Now just where the hell could I buy it?
Fast-forward again to this year's Toronto Wine & Cheese Show. I discovered Angostura in the list of attending vendors, and the company's bitters would be available. I scribbled "Angostura bitters" on to my "must taste" list and then proceeded to track this elusive concoction down at the show.
"Have you ever tried Angostura bitters?" asked the mixologist at the booth.
"No. I've been looking for it for a long time," I said.
He gave me a quizzical look.
"It's available at the grocery store."
"It is? Where?"
"It's in the beverages aisle. Not in the spices aisle where you think it would be. It's usually on the top shelf."
At a trip to Sobey's last weekend, I did as the gent instructed and, to my surprise, found several bottles of Angostura bitters on the top shelf of the beverages aisle. I added a bottle of sweet vermouth to my liquor cupboard that same day.
Armed with all three of the necessary ingredients to make a Manhattan, I selected a martini glass, poured a healthy dose of Wiser's Canadian whiskey, splashed a bit (too much) of sweet vermouth and then opened the bitters. I really wanted to taste the bitters, so instead of just a dash, as the Dummies recipe suggested, I sprinkled what probably amounted to five or six dashes into the glass. Without a cocktail stirrer, I grabbed a spoon, give the liquid a quick mixing and then lifted my first Manhattan to my lips.
Sip. Pause. Cough. Too much bitters. The spices over-powered the whiskey (and that's not easily done).
I took a second sip -- this time prepared for the spices of the bitters.
"With less bitters, this would be really good."
And just like that, I have another reason to make sure there's always a bottle of Wiser's in my cupboard.
// posted by Chris @ 7:22 AM 
Comments:
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angosta bitters? You were looking for them for that long?
It's a Trini Thing. Almost every and all west indian shops. I think my dad's got 2 or 3 bottles.
Damn, should have told me. I could have told you a long time ago.
We've used it forever, from cooking, to drinks.
It's a Trini Thing. Almost every and all west indian shops. I think my dad's got 2 or 3 bottles.
Damn, should have told me. I could have told you a long time ago.
We've used it forever, from cooking, to drinks.
It's not a Trinidad thing. It was developed by a German while in Venezuela. It's called Angostura because the region he was in was called that at the time.
Bitters...essential, collect every bottle you can get. Fee Brother's, Regans', Peychaud. They last forever.
Try rye whiskey instead of Canadian, that's a real Manhattan.
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Try rye whiskey instead of Canadian, that's a real Manhattan.
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