My Handcrafted Opinions on Whiskies, Distilleries and Other Related Stuff
Since I moved from Texas in 2015 the one whisky I miss the most and find the hardest to source from other side of the world is Forty Creek. It is very special and unique and honestly I miss it more than my family. If they are reading, then that is a joke. But I do miss it a lot. I picked up this while passing though Texas on business and my bottle was number 9132 from Lot 11 (... you are welcome whiskey pedants). The nose has lots of familiar notes of vanilla and freshly sawn wood. Quite mild and sweet like those cheap cigars that are sold in US Drugstores. The taste is also sweet, with caramel, chocolate, butterscotch balanced with some grass and pepper notes. The finish does manage to muster a little spice and oaky resistance but still overall a typical Forty Creek "candy disguised as whiskey" (that I love). Perhaps not their finest work... but to honest even their "OK stuff" is better than most.
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Location: The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, India
Date: April 2018
Price: 700 Indian Rupee ($10.73 USD)
Recipe: Listed as "American whiskey, Martini Rosso and Angosturo bitter"
Garnish: Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Interesting twist which I liked a lot was glass rim was dipped in Bitters. Key to Manhattan is balancing sweetness and punch of bitters and the "rimming" helped with that.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, India
Date: April 2018
Price: 900 Indian Rupee ($13.80 USD)
Recipe: Listed as Perfect Manhattan with "whisky, bitters and vermouth"
Garnish: Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: As Perfect Manhattan it would be a mix of sweet and dry vermouths and it lacked sweetness I look for. May appeal to others. Could have been bigger.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Oak Bar, Park Hyatt, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date: March 2018
Price: $ 250 Argentine Pesos ($12.36 USD)
Recipe: No recipe but saw Bulliett Bourbon being poured
Garnish: Lemon peel
Served: Rocks
Comments: Was told it was best Manhattan in Buenos Aires but lacked punch (maybe to little bitters?) for me. A little too washed out on the rocks.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Oak Room, Fairmont Palliser, Calgary, Canada
Date: July 2017
Price: $ 18 CAD ($14.22 USD)
Recipe: Woodford Reserve, sweet vermouth, bitters
Garnish: Black cherry
Served: Up
Comments: I also had a Manhatttan here in April 2016 (MPE#13) but the recipe had changed, though the price was the same. Still very good.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge, Alaska, USA
Date: July 2017
Price: $10.00
Recipe: As per menu "High West Double Rye, Sweet Vermouth and a dash of bitters"
Garnish: Maraschino cherry
Served: Up
Comments: It was fine and a reasonable price. Good but not memorable.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Fred Meyer, Soldotna, USA
Date: July 2017
Price: $2.97 (yes $2.97)
Recipe: Came in a can called "Club Manhattan" which described it as a premium blended whiskey and sweet vermouth.
Garnish: None
Served: Rocks
Comments: Fairly bad example of the genre from a range of Club cocktails in a can, but the price is right....
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
I don't need to introduce Martine Nouet to anyone who reads this obscure and occasional blog. But I am going to. Martine is a well respected French whisky writer with a penchant for whisky and food pariings and to best of my knowledge she makes her home on Islay (unless some Beexiteers have chased her off by now). However after reading the attached article (link below) I might worry about the pitchforks and burning torches of the "Cask Strength Brigade" who may upon march upon her cottage chanting their mantra "you can put water in but you can't take it out" and demanding she be burnt in a wicker whisky bottle (a whisker bottle perhaps?) for her herecy. Why I hear you ask? What crime against high ABV whisky did she commit? Well she actually wrote the words "Why I dislike cask strength whisky" on the scotchwhisky.com blog earlier this year.
And of course she is 100% proof right.
https://scotchwhisky.com/magazine/the-way-i-see-it/12917/why-i-dislike-cask-strength-whisky/
I wish I could write (indeed spell) as well her but I did express almost all the same feelings in my blog in March 2013 .... and I have pasted relevent extract below.
"Occasionally I have 'humbly' suggested that bottling whiskies at 60%+ ABV doesn’t help the product and I end up having to dilute anyway. Someone will often try and argue that is a good thing because I can “dilute to my personal taste”. I can hear them now chanting the mantra of the ABV obsessed “you can put water in but you can’t take it out, you can put water in but you can’t take it out”. But it is a silly argument. This is whisky, usually expensive whisky, not orange squash. I don’t want to buy concentrate of whisky that I can easily screw up. I want to buy the product presented to me by the people who created it at the ABV they feel best showcases their product. Many chefs don’t have salt on their restaurant tables because they want the diner to enjoy the food as they think it is best seasoned. They want the food to be judged that way and I feel whisky should be the same. I am not saying a few drops of water to open up a dram aren’t necessary, they often are, but presenting me with 60% ABV spirit (often at cost of $100 or more a bottle) and then expecting me to guess the right water content to add to their whisky is a little asinine. I dont care what the ABV of a whisky is.... I just want it to taste good. if it does, then I am happy."
Location: Quinto la Huella, EAST Hotel, Miami, USA
Date: June 2017
Price: $19.05 (Listed at $15.00 then came tax, service charge etc)
Recipe: Did not see but they asked which Bourbon.... I chose Makers Mark
Garnish: Maraschino cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Did not stand out for such an expensive version. Maybe not the best choice of bourbon for a Manhattan (no rye content).
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: The Club at Sea Lounge, Seattle Airport, USA
Date: June 2017
Price: Free ($0.00 USD)
Recipe: Jack Daniels, sweet vermouth, orange, blood orange bitters
Garnish: Maraschino cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Not sure what the "orange" listed in the recipe was but it was a solid cocktail and the price was right!
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Skyview, La Cigale Hotel, Doha, Qatar
Date: April 2017
Price: 65 QAR ($17.85 USD)
Recipe: Np recipe
Garnish: None
Served: Rocks
Comments: Not bad. Well balanced with the biiters coming through to balance out the sweetness.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Emirates Lounge, Johannesburg Airport, South Africa
Date: April 2017
Price: Free ($0.00 USD)
Recipe: 2 x Jack Daniels, 1 x Martini Rosso and Angosturo Bitters
Garnish: None
Served: Rocks
Comments: Unable to find a Manhattan on my Jo'burg hotel cocktail menu I improvised one for myself at airport lounge.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii