My Handcrafted Opinions on Whiskies, Distilleries and Other Related Stuff
This was picked by Mike Raymond of Houston's Reserve 101 as their 10th anniversary bottling. As the regular readers (both of them) know by now I love Maker's Mark, I love Houston, I love Reserve101 and I have very strong feelings for Mike. But for some reason this one did not quite work for me, but give it a try as it might for you. The nose is oaky with some fruity wine notes as well. Sopem heat from the 55.65% ABV along with calssic vanilla, corn and cola notes. The taste is hot and a little sharp at first with some black cherry, dark chocolate, jalepeno, burnt caramel and oak char. The finish is pepper and even a little sour. With water it gets creamier with some brown sugar and more vanilla. It definately needs a little water (or ice or time) to open it up.
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Although the image I chose for this blog is of Einsten I don't try to pretend that this is rocket science. In fact I think Whisky investing is really so simple that I have summarized it in my Three Laws of Whisky Investing below. I can condense this further in just two words and in any future publication on the subject I would suggest they take their cue from The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy and print on the cover, in large friendly letters, the same two words: "Don't Bother".
Law 1 Investing: Allocate for investment in Whisky exactly the same amount of money you would be willing throw onto a fire and watch burn
Law 2 Buying: If you are reading on the internet or in a magazine about a great investment, then it isn't. Law 3 now applies.
Law 3 Selling: Appear in a series of magazine articles and internet postings about how great whisky investing is. Then sell your shit.
Location: Bottled barrel-aged Manhattan at 34% ABV
Date: July 2018
Price: Approx. $40.00 USD a bottle (or +/- $5 a 3 oz measure)
Recipe: Described as Manhattan but a little reseach indicates it is a "Perfect" recipe with both dry and sweet vermouth
Garnish: None
Served: Rocks
Comments: Acceptable and at a good price point but I am not a fan of perfect Manhattans and usually prefer the sweeter versions.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Black Hat Whiskey Room, Terminal E, Houston Intercontintal Airport
Date: July 2018
Price: 2220 United Airmiles (or $14.00 USD)
Recipe: Same online system as #41 but this time with Knob Creek and I paid with United Airmiles.... cool.
Garnish: Black Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Same as experiment #41, overall good but lacked bitters
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Texas Barbeque Q Smokehouse, Terminal E,Houston Intercontinental Airport
Date: July 2018
Price: $15.00 USD
Recipe: Makers Mark, sweet vermouth and a few dashes of Angosturo bitters
Garnish: Black Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: Cool online ordering system and a good Manhattn, lacked some bitters for me.
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
Location: Pearson International Airport, Terminal 1, Toronto
Date: May 2018
Price: $10.50 CAD ($8.08 USD)
Recipe: Described as "Rye whiskey balanced out with sweet vermouth and a few dashes of Angosturo bitters"
Garnish: Cherry
Served: Up
Comments: A very solid offering at a great price made with Crown Royal (*what else in Canada)
What is this about? Check out http://www.somanywhiskies.com/item/749-the-manhattan-project-ii
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