I have always been either looked at like I have three heads or told I don't want such an old man drink when I've asked for a Manhattan. The drink is my measure of a bar and bartender. Most people who enjoy drinking (I'm not talking alcoholics or college frat boys) have that one drink they order as a test of bartender skill. I have always felt you need to know the basic classic cocktails to be truly great. A Manhattan sits along side five other basic drinks (like the martini) in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, the official bartender guide. The actual origins of the Manhattan cocktail is, like many other such drinks, shrouded in legend and myth. It is from New York City and came about sometime in the second half of the 19th century. It is made using American rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. It is shaken with ice and served in a cocktail/martini glass with a Marachino cherry. It's not a hard or complex drink, but has a variety of versions that make it an exciting.
So many times I've been served everything but a Manhattan (a Cosmopolitan, a whiskey martini, or some bastardized whiskey sour), and most times it is mostly dry vermouth. As a result I teach the bartender the right way to make the whiskey cocktail and it comes out fine. Yet nothing compares to the drink I had years ago served when it was first introduced to me at a cousin's wedding (made with Bing cherries instead of Marachino). That is until Monday April 2, 2012.
I had just returned home to Delaware, Ohio, after a weekend in Cleveland and was wandering around town when a friend of a friend mentioned it was Manhattan Monday at
Vito's. I, of course, perked up. What could be better than Manhattans after a long relaxing weekend? Half price Manhattans after a long relaxing weekend. I was hesitent at first since
Vito's is a wine bar and didn't know what to expect. But the recommendation came from a trusted source. (A
small business group member who promotes all the awesome places in town can't be wrong, right?) Plus, I figured if they were advertising the drink, they should have an idea how to make one.
Vito's is tucked into a part of the main North-South road through town and can be missed as it is one of many awnings and dark store fronts. When walking down the street, I always look for the sidewalk specials sign out front. Once you find it, the front window is open to everything inside. On a busy night it is full and everyone looks to be having a great time. It's an inviting set up even before you walk in the door. Once inside, you are surrounded by an amazing collection of wines. I'll go into that in another post. But this post is about the gem in the back--the bar.
The way the interior is set up, reminds me of a prohibition era speak-easy. The legal business up front (from the street it looks like a tapas bar) and the illegal down some steps in the back. The decor and lighting help infuse this ambiance into the mind. The bar fills the back space circled by bar stools. The whole area is simple in design. There is some art work on the paneled walls and some extra seating along the right side. But truly the focus of the space is on the whiskeys lining the wall behind the bar.
I can't tell you what all is there but it is all of excellent quality. What is commonly referred to as top shelf alcohol sits on the only shelf on the wall behind the bar (actually its the only shelf in the whole bar area). You won't find any of that watered down well whiskey here. And its all stored at room temperature as it should be. I'll go ahead and admit it, I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to my alcohol. Doesn't matter what it is, it has to be quality; price doesn't matter (I have favorites in every price range). The whole time sitting at the bar, I felt like I was living a scene straight out of
Casablanca. The feeling intensified when I had that first Manhattan in my hand.
If you are lucky, like we were, you will have Brad behind the bar mixing up the perfect Manhattan. It is not a drink for everyone and only a few can actually make one correctly, but it is an experience when done correctly. I use the term perfect when describing the drink Brad made and it carries a variety of meanings. First I use it to describe the version of the Manhattan. Second I use it to describe the care taken to make it. And lastly the reason for the post, I used it to explain why I feel it is the best Manhattan.
A perfect Manhattan cocktail is made using equal parts sweet and dry vermouth. Everything else, as explained above, stays the same in the cocktail. As anyone who drinks cocktails made with vermouth (martinis especially) knows the vermouth can make or break the drink. The proportion has to be right so as to not throw off the flavor of the main liquor and also has to impart its own flavor to the drink. But it also has to be quality. You don't put cheap gas in your Alfa Romeo, so why put cheap vermouth into your top shelf liquor?
Vito's understands this. The vermouth is some of the highest quality vermouth you can find. And it is not Martini and Rossi. The bitters are not your average Angostura bitters. You can drink these straight. They have a grapefruit and hibiscus note to them which is amazing with the whiskey. And it doesn't stop there. The care of selecting such amazing ingredients can be thrown out the window if you add just plain old, pick up at the local Walmart bright red flavorless Marachino cherries.
Vito's instead has chosen a Marachino cherry of an amazing quality. These cherries are made in a small village in Italy. They come packed in small canning jars that just the sight of reminds me of summers in my childhood home canning and pickling with my mother. The cherries look like cherries. Dark almost black in color and the syrup matches. And they taste like cherries. No unusually red cherries go into this Manhattan. All the ingredients are carefully layered and mixed then poured into a rocks glass that has one large ice cube. The one cube reduces the surface area and thus the chance of watering down the drink. It is top quality after all.
All of this is just a part of the experience that makes this the best Manhattan I have had (and challenge anyone to find a better one). Brad, the bartender, the teacher of this drink, makes it so much better. He takes his time with the drink. You can see the passion that he has for the alcohol that goes into making it by the way he handles each pour and the way he talks about the ingredients. He takes the time to explain where the cherries come from. Time slows as you watch him make it. Nothing else matters. The perfect mix of the whiskey and the vermouths shaken with some ice and poured. The conversation and whiskey lessons that pepper the space. The drizzle of that dark inky syrup over the floating iceberg like ice cube. The bamboo skewer holding the single black ball called Marachino laying, chilling on that iceberg. The whole glass from drink to bartender to the bar to the conversation speaks of a time gone by.
I had five of the drinks that night. I drank nothing else. I got wrapped up in the amber liquid to the point I was talking everyone else into them. I'm not sure how many Brad made that night while I was sitting at his bar. I only wish I could be there every Monday night for that experience. Next time I'll dress for the occasion, as it is an event not to be missed.
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| Vito's Manhattan made by the amazing Brad. Picture taken by your's truly. |
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