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Manhattan

Eat, Live, Play

House Classic: The Kentucky Manhattan

I’m a late comer to this cocktail – call it a lockdown revelation, but it’s currently my favourite tipple. Strong, warm and silky – the Manhattan is one of the dark spirit cocktails that effortlessly crosses the seasons.

Originating in…of course… Manhattan, sometime in the mid-late 1800’s, the original Manhattan was a mix of  “American Whiskey, Italian Vermouth, and Angostura bitters”, and I guess my house classic doesn’t veer too far away from these original roots.

Glassware

I like to serve a Manhattan in coupe, a shallow, saucer shaped stemmed glass. My current favourite is the Riedel Bar Crystal Glass Nick & Nora set. At 140ml, they are slightly too small for the recipe below, but it means you can leave some in the cocktail shaker chilling while you drink the first glass.

I always put the glass in the freezer for 10 minutes before making the cocktail.

Ingredients

I’ve tried different variations of Bourbon, Rye and Vermouth brands, but this one comes out on top for me. The Starlino is an Italian sweet Vermouth di Torino, aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels. It includes wormwood, cloves, vanilla, rhubarb, ginger, cinchona tincture, grape skin, raisins, bitter orange peel and other herbs and spices, and unlike some Vermouth, is not too bitter, so it balances well with the Kentucky-originating Jack.

Recipe

  1. Take one round, golf-ball-sized ice cube and place in cocktail shaker (square ice cubes are also fine – but bigger the better)
  2. Add the spirits and the bitters (you could also add cherry bitter here if you like)
  3. Stir until it’s nicely chilled
  4. Pour, either straight up or with the single ice cube, into a cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry and a tiny drizzle of cherry juice.

Sip and enjoy with a snack.

 

 

12th September 2021
Design

Taking Care of Business

Friday in Manhattan was just as gorgeous, weather-wise, so we once again set off on foot, scoring a fantastic turkey sandwich from a deli on the way. We headed down towards the Flatiron district, through Bryant Park and sat outside a café by the Flatiron in the sun. We then carried on walking, all the way down to the lower east side, stopping to share fish and chips at a really nice place called Bar Fish.

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Once we were near New York Adorned we nipped into a Cuban bar for a couple of fortifying vodka shots. I’m not used to being tattooed without heavy-duty painkillers but I didn’t have any – luckily the spot we’d chosen on the ankle turned out to not be painful at all.

IMG_6483We had chosen a classic TCB design, with the lightening bolt and a thick outline. Madge had taken it from a picture of a replica Elvis Presley pistol, cleaning it up a bit in Photoshop and removing the trademark! It was a simple stencil but really, really relied on the artist having a steady hand, as the lines are dead straight.

Madge went first, while I sat and watched. It took longer than I expected, but it was soon my turn to hop up on the bed. The tattoo didn’t hurt at all – a tiny pinch near the ankle but apart from that, plain sailing. It’s very, very different to everything else I have – which is why I really like it. It’s got hard edges and it’s very graphic, in a way it kind of jars – everything else is organic and natural and fading, so it stands out. I’m really pleased with it.

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11th March 2016
Travel

New York, New York

Before we went, I made of big long list of all the things I wanted to do in New York. I think we ticked off about 2 of them. That’s not to say we didn’t have a wonderful time and that we didn’t find brilliant things to do – we did – it’s just that New York has a way of getting involved and messing up your plans!

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon to sunshine and lovely warm weather. The drive into the city was fine, and after we’d checked in we set about finding food. Carnegie’s deli/diner did the trick, serving up a lovely chicken noodle soup, a cheese burger and a corned beef sandwich the size of my head. Luckily we were sharing! We followed that with cocktails (Cosmo, natch) in the hotel bar and an early night. After an obligatory shot in Times Square, obvs.

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Thursday dawned bright and even sunnier, so we ditched the heavy coats and set out for a walk. We had lunch plans with a friend, so decided to take a slow walk from Times Square down to the West Village, along the High Line, via a bagel shop for the best cream cheese and lox bagel I’ve ever had. It was glorious, and on leaving the High Line we stopped for coffee and for a handbag at Kate Spade!

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After another coffee stop a bit further along we found our lunch venue – The Ear Inn on Spring Street and had a great lunch with our old friend and colleague Tim. Two hours flew by, with so much to catch up on and before we knew it we were walking him back to work and heading off to the East Village to see if we could get an appointment at New York Adorned.

We were in luck and booked for Friday, to get a small 10th wedding anniversary tattoo. We then wheedled our way back through the Village, via beers and chips n guac outside a Mexican restaurant, before getting a cab back to the hotel.

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I reckon we walked about 15km all in all, and we absolutely wore ourselves out. So much so that it was a struggle to go out for dinner. Luckily we found a fairly decent looking Japanese Ramen bar nearby and it turned out they did a pretty good Katsu curry and Ramen, which we shared, before heading back to the hotel for a couple of nightcaps.

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11th March 2016