DRINK OF THE MONTH #2 - Manhattan

Drink of the Month #1 - Negroni - click here to see that one
DRINK OF THE MONTH #2 - MANHATTAN

We are excited to start a new program.  Drink of the month.  Roughly, each month we will present a new drink that you can make at home with the guidance from a professional.  The professional that will be providing the recipes and the instructions will be mixologist, Jeffrey Moll.

Jeffrey Moll, the Head Barman at Randolfi's
Defender of both the fundamentals and DIY cocktailing. Reverence for all things liquid. Jason Molina fan. Avid cyclist. Loyal curmudgeon.

2015 St. Louis Magazine "A-List Award" Winner

Jeffrey Moll Jr., MIXOLOGIST

Dozens of the concoctions lining bartender Moll’s mixing station at Randolfi’s were formulated by the barkeep himself. Nabbing a tincture-side seat at the bar provides a nonpareil liquid education, with Moll dispensing as many answers as imbibers have questions. The cognoscenti gather, knowing that Moll’s labor-intensive seasonal creations (such as the garnish-laden Moll’s Cup No. 3) will keep them ahead of the cocktail curve.

The drinks will be presented in a "progressive" format so that you will end up with an amazing bar at home so that you can create every drink you would ever want.  Progressive meaning that next month you will not need to buy every ingredient, it will use some of the spirits you bought in the previous month(s) and so on.


Thank you to Jeffrey Moll for his help.  You can also head down to Randofi's and have Jeffrey make the drink for you!

Info from Jeffrey

MANHATTAN
First: Here are the tools Jeffrey recommends for this cocktail (and you will need for future drinks)

• Stirring Vessel (this can be anything from a shaker pint or a mixing tin OR a proper mixing glass)  ***
• Mixing Spoon    ***
• Hawthorn Strainer     ***
• Conical Fine Strainer (optional, but i recommend one as, at a point it will become a requirement for some drinks)  ***
• Large Silicon Spherical Ice Maker (also recommended if one prefers the drink over ice.)    ***
• Fruit or Vegetable Peeler
• Coupe Glass or Single Rocks Glass
• 3"-5" Wooden Skewers (optional, but recommended if you purchase Luxardo Cherries.) this is the only new "tool" you will need from last month's drink

*** in stock at TWCP Forsyth

Second:

There is a fair amount of variance in this cocktail. at the very least you will need the following bottles:  We have them all in stock now

• Rittenhouse 100-proof Rye Whisky  OR  Old Grandad 100-proof Bonded Bourbon Whiskey
• Cocchi di Torino Sweet Vermouth (you should already have a bottle from last months cocktail) or Dolin Dry Vermouth
• Angostura Bitters
• Luxardo Cherries (optional, but they are so dang good and you may need them for future cocktails)

All these ingredients are available at The Wine and Cheese Place (might not be available at all 4 locations)
You can click here to reserve the three spirits needed for this drink on our site.
We will let you know when they are ready to pick up at the location you choose.



You have a choice here with this drink. while both of these whiskeys are fantastic, I recommend that you try both. Some drinks just happen to be better with a spicy rye whiskey, while others do much with a sweeter and more smooth bourbon whiskey. Of course this is simply my opinion. My tastes gravitate toward a Rye Manhattan, personally. As well as getting to make a choice between to whiskey styles, you get to choose between making the more common sweet style Manhattan with your already purchased sweet vermouth, or a dry style Manhattan, which uses a dry vermouth letting the whiskies hold a stronger presence in the drink.


You will also need an orange and/lemon for this drink. often you will find that lemon will lend itself better for the rye version of this drink and orange will compliment the bourbon version.

Lastly, here is the preparation for the cocktail:

• 2oz of Rittenhouse Rye Whisky OR Old Grandad Bourbon
• 1oz Cocchi di Torino Sweet Vermouth OR Dolin Dry Vermouth
• 2-3 shakes of Angostura Bitters
• 1 OR 3 skewered Luxardo Cherries (optional, but NEVER do two as it is a sign of disrespect and bad luck. this applies to all types of skewered garnish)

• Add all spirits to your mixing glass
• Fill mixing glass 3/4 of the way with ice
• Stir gently, quickly and fluidly (no pun intended) keeping the bottom of the spoon in constant contact with the side of the glass for about 25-30 seconds
• Using your hawthorn strainer and fine strainer (if possessed) strain into a cold coupe glass or, if preferred, a prepared single rocks glass with fresh ice or one large ice cube (recommended)
• Using your vegetable peeler, peel a sizable strip of orange peel (if bourbon) or lemon peel (if rye). gently grasp the smaller section of the peel between your thumb and index finger and squeeze to express the oils from the peel over the cocktail. place peel in drink.
• If you decided to garish with Luxardo Cherries, go ahead and discard the peel after the oils are expressed
• Enjoy!

Notes from Jeffrey:
As I mentioned there is a great deal of options in making this drink. Much like making a classic martini, there is a lot of room to personalize your drink by tweaking the measures of your ingredients. The recipe I provided is the classic one you find that most people use and what I enjoy as a sweet style Manhattan, but based of your choice of whiskey or vermouth you might find that your Manhattan tastes better to you in different measures. I find that when making a dry Manhattan, I enjoy a 50/50 measure of rye whiskey and dry vermouth. A typical cocktail is 3oz of ingredients, so I encourage to experiment and find what works for you.