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Fatboy Ambien: The Manhattan

By David Young 3 April 07

The official Joyeur bourbon is Woodford Reserve (though we like Booker’s for cask strength), and after a long day chatting about the future of the western web, we like to sit back and enjoy a nice Manhattan. Here’s what you’ll need:

Fill a tumbler with store-bought ice. Why store-bought ice? Because if you use ice from the ice maker in your freezer, it is probably covered with dust (yes!) and/or smells like the tuna steaks you shoved in the ice box last summer swearing a better diet. Store-bought ice is pure.

Shake some Angostura bitters over the ice. Our preference is for four to five shakes. Just cover the top of the ice. Then, in the glass, you’ll want to fill it with one-third for the sweet vermouth, and two-thirds for the Woodford Reserve bourbon. You can experiment with the proportions. Stir the drink with a large spoon. Never shake. This isn’t a vodka martini.

Find a nice, generous martini glass. Some people like their Manhattan over ice. They’re cutting the alcohol of the bourbon with the melting ice water. We prefer to cut the alcohol of the bourbon with the sweet vermouth. Place a couple of the cherries into the glass then strain the drink into the glass. Your drink should have a rich, beautiful brown, liquid caramel color. Nice.



click for larger version

Cheers.

FAQ:

Q: Why doesn’t sheet I’mean tha iznt you want a big mac burger?

A: Please drink responsibly.


  1. Oh man. I got mine in hand!

    — Jason A. Hoffman    506 days ago    #

  2. Feed aggregators need an absolute URL or a URL base + a relative in order to render your images for all of your subscribers. It’s quite possible your Joyeur subscribers never see your finished product.

    You can add a “xml:base” of Joyeur.com or you might look into converting your images to the full URL string.

    /images/77.jpg
    vs.
    http://joyeur.com/images/77.jpg

    — Niall Kennedy    506 days ago    #

  3. @Niall: you wnatz get mac burger now? Fuh? Wah? xml? is that a cheese? have a manfatten.

    — David Young    506 days ago    #

  4. @Niall how about now? I’m trying the absolute (URL not the vodka).

    — Jason Hoffman    506 days ago    #

  5. First the cursing in the title of DHH’s post and now a drink chock-full of alcohol on the Joyent website? What is this world coming to?

    Looks amazing. Too bad I’m a lightweight :(

    — Anonymous    506 days ago    #

  6. Sorry, but James Bond was wrong. You don’t shake a vodka martini either.

    — Scott Barron    505 days ago    #

  7. I hate maraschino cherries.

    I recently picked up a copy of The Art of the Bar , written by a couple bartenders at Absinthe in San Francisco, and they serve and recommend brandied cherries instead. I haven’t yet had one at the bar but I’m thinking about trying their cherry recipe at home for occasions when a Manhattan is called for.

    — Kenn Christ    505 days ago    #

  8. Ah, Woodford, the undisputed King of Bourbons in my mind. I simply love the stuff, and have a nice Woodford on the rocks pretty much every day when I arrive home from work. I may have to try this Manhattan recipe, but I have serious trouble mixing Woodford considering it is just so damn good on its own.

    Good on ‘ya David, for selecting such fine bourbon! As a boy from the good ‘ole south, I am impressed!

    — Jonathan LaCour    505 days ago    #

  9. That is a fine recipe.

    As for ice: a Manhattan “over ice” is ultimately unpleasant, but just a hint of crushed ice can make all the difference.

    — Alex Payne    505 days ago    #

  10. Woodford is good (Derby time fast approaching), but you should try Pappy Van Winkle’s 15 Year Old Family Reserve next time. You might just have a new favorite Bourbon.

    — Michael Biven    505 days ago    #

  11. I got all the ingredients and just made one. Delicious.

    One hell of a day and no Martini glasses, so I just used a huge mug, too. :D

    — Brett    505 days ago    #

  12. For a pleasant variation, try Fee Bros. orange bitters instead of Angostura.

    — S. Ben Melhuish    505 days ago    #

  13. I knew I liked you guys! :) The Manhattan is by far my favorite drink, and Woodford is hands down the best bourbon for it. It adds a mellow spice to the drink that other bourbons can’t compete with. I’ve tried the higher end $80-a-bottle Woodford, but I honestly didn’t notice an improvement in the quality of the drink over the entry level Woodford.

    I usually don’t use a Maraschino cherry when I mix mine; and, instead of bitters, I add two or three thin slices of orange. The rind adds some natural bitter, and the juice from the orange adds some of the sweet the cherry would have added. I always take mine on the rocks, and serve in a Riedel “O” wine tumbler (looks really nice with the orange slices fanned out).

    — Elliot Larson    505 days ago    #

  14. Cheers! Great drink indeed! Being a native Kentuckian I do enjoy a good bourbon. My favorite way to have a high quality bourbon is simply neat for slow sipping at the end of a long day though. However, I do love a Manhattan too, thanks for sharing David.

    I second the 15 year old Pappy Van Winkle comment above. Very, very nice drink. Although, I’m not sure I would actually mix it with anything but a small splash of water to open it up a bit.

    If in Marin Noonan’s at Larkspur landing used to have a very nice selection of Bourbon’s as well. (and Tequilla for that matter). I haven’t been there in a while, but I would assume the bar is still stocked well.

    — Kent Langley    504 days ago    #

  15. Mmm… this is a good drink

    — Joe Van Dyk    286 days ago    #

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