Budding cocktail historian Philip Greene has written all he can about author Ernest Hemingway and his legendary love of the drink with his engrossing read “To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion.”
So Greene has moved onto another integral subject in the cocktail world: the silky, sophisticated Manhattan.
Made with bourbon or rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and aromatic bitters, it “represents a watershed moment in cocktail history,” he writes in the new “The Manhattan: The Story of the First Modern Cocktail” ($19.95, Sterling Epicure). “For the first time, an imported, fortified aromatized wine known as vermouth modified the structure of the cocktail, adding balance, nuance, sophistication, and and sweetness to the base spirit.”
Once spirits and vermouth collided in this way, a whole new generation of cocktails — variations on a theme, as Greene puts it — was born, including the ones below. Sip them while you read Greene’s insightful book, full of historical facts, cocktail recipes and more.
Big Chief
2 oz. Willett Pot Still Reserve or Woodford Reserve bourbon
1/2 oz. Averna
1/2 oz. Punt e Mes
Orange disk for garnish
Stir all ingredients well with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a flamed orange disk.
— Abigail Gullo of Compère Lapin in New Orleans, as featured in “The Manhattan”
Matador
3/4 oz. Milagro Silver Tequila
3/4 oz. Martini dry vermouth
3/4 oz. Ferrand dry Curacao
Lemon peel for garnish
Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze a lemon peel over top and either discard or it or use as a garnish.
— William J. Tarling, as featured in “The Manhattan”
About the Author
