I’ve never been much of a cocktail drinker. I like a good ale or a glass of red wine or a single malt scotch with an ice cube.
But lately I’ve been curious about this whole business of “mixology”—which is, I gather, the vogue terminology that describes the craft of a bartender who knows what he’s doing. I’m reading articles and hearing radio programs on the subject.
So, one of the last times I found myself at a restaurant with a decent bar, I ordered a Manhattan. This is a drink I knew very little about, other than that it is made, usually, with rye whiskey and sweet vermouth.
The drink that came surprised me a little bit: a Manhattan is (apparently) served in a martini glass with a maraschino cherry in the bottom. I found it to be quite smooth, which is dangerous considering how much alcohol goes into each one. In any case, I’d found a cocktail I liked.
Until that night, my only experience of the Manhattan was watching my grandfather drink them. His drink was a dry Manhattan on the rocks, if my memory is correct. I remember the waitress at the country club bringing one to him as soon as he sat down at the table.
But I wasn’t interested in aping my grandfather’s particular taste in booze. I’d rather just find a drink that’s simple enough and common enough so that I can order one without a lot of explanation to the waiter or bartender. A classic.
Yesterday, as we drove out to the farm to pick up our meat and eggs and (bonus!) salad greens, we tuned into “The Cocktail Hour” (which appears as “The Cock” on our car’s radio display), and I decided we should stop at the package store for supplies on the way home.
The only rye whiskey they had was Jim Beam. I grabbed that and a bottle of sweet vermouth, but I forgot the angostura bitters, which I had to go back out for after dinner. Danielle looked up the recipe in our lone barkeep manual and mixed one up for me, stirred, not shaken, in a 32-oz. mason jar before straining it into a collins glass because martini glasses are stupid.
And it was quite good.
I don’t know if it’ll become my regular drink, but it’ll go on the list. It’s good to know a couple of cocktails, especially when you’re at the bar, and you just can’t quite justify spending $12 on a glass of scotch.
4 responses so far ↓
1 NanMel // Feb 21, 2009 at 11:17 am
I agree that martini glasses are stupid. I was making a list of comments as I was reading this and when I read “…served in a martini glass…” I was going to comment “Are you a woman, Tom?” But alas, you addressed the situation, and the world is right again.
My problem is I actually like Martinis (dirty, Vodka, 3 olives), so trying to get those not in a martini glass is tricky. Of course, I am a woman, so it’s not as awkward.
2 JA3 // Feb 21, 2009 at 7:54 pm
There’s usually a good reason for the preferred glassware a drink is served in; of course I can’t remember for the life of me what the point of a martini glass might be. I have them and use them, so nyah.
Ditto the love for the dirty martini, Nan. My other fave is a black russian, but too much kaluha wakes me up at 3am, so most of the time I’ll just have bourbon, bourbon & diet coke, or a G&T, depending on my mood and the time of year.
3 JA3 // Feb 21, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Oh, and whenever I have a question about bars or mixology I end up back at this blog: http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com/
4 tlitchfo // Feb 21, 2009 at 9:31 pm
I’ve heard so many rants against martini glasses that I have chosen to believe there actually is no good reason for them
Seriously, though: of course the stem has a purpose, to give you something to hold onto without warming up your drink. The problem I have with them is the lack of “head space,” i.e. their tendency to slosh over the rim.
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