The Manhattan returns to The Bottle Opener

(My first attempt at making an even fancier Manhattan.)

I recently brought up the topic of Manhattans, revealing the significance of this classic cocktail in my life. It doesn't need to be said again and again that I love a good Manhattan. But, well... I love a good Manhattan.

I gave a lengthy description of how I like my standard Manhattans, but the fact of the matter is, I really would prefer something slightly more complex if I had the choice.

Coming at the whiskey favourite from a completely different perspective, one night I got to messing around. I opted out of both the rocks and the Martini glass, for a change, considering instead to use a glass which would funnel the aromas of the cocktail into my nasal palette. Aromatic exploration would be in my future.

See Also: How I grew up from Hi-Balls

The first thought I had was to mix an ounce of choice bourbon - Knob Creek - with half an ounce of Courvoisier VS and Martini Rosso, each. I continued by adding ice and and a dash of Angostura bitters before straining into my glass. I finalized my potion by adding a single unskewered cherry and orange zest, which I muddled. 

It was good. Really good, but still, not good enough. For starters, I realized the orange zest was simply not zesty enough, but moreover wasn't doing as much for the drink as I would have hoped; clashing with both the cherry and the cognac. Either a much bigger zest would be required and a rethink of using cognac, or I would simply disregard adding the zest. The choice was obvious - the zest had to go. It was simply too much, and perhaps the only reason I chose to use it in the first place was because I knew it would be too much.

(I know this doesn't look much different from the last one, but... in a phrase: this is the one.)

For round two, I decided to try something considerably different. I looked up my old friend Jack, and got down to risky business; I grasped for his single barrel counterpart instead. I liked JD Manhattans, but this would be something different. Not quite a bourbon, and also not quite so recognizable as a typical Jack cocktail, I then chose Remy Martin Champagne Cognac for my second spirit, and again Martini Rosso. This time my measurements would change a bit; I would use one and a quarter ounce of the whiskey with a quarter ounce of the cognac, and Rosso remaining the same. Ounce more I iced, bitterred, stirred and strained before adding the maraschino cherry garnish that would be awesome to swallow at the end of the glass.

And it was awesome. This time it was everything I had hoped it would be.