BourbonBlog.com brings you the finalists of the Manhattan Experience 2013 and the recipes below.
Tonight in Manhattan, New York, these mixologists face off to see who has the best Manhattan for the finale!
We’ll bring you the first place winner here on BourbonBlog.com, we can tell you it will be one of these recipes below!
EAST OF HUDSON
by GARRON GORE, SAVANNAH, GA
2 oz. Woodford Reserve
½ oz. Carpano Antica Formula
½ oz. Punt e Mes
2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters
1 House-smoked Cherry
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and gently stir. Strain into martini glass and add one house-smoked cherry.
Gardon Gore
MIDNIGHT MANHATTAN
by TRAVIS FOURMONT, DETROIT, MI
2 oz. Woodford Reserve
½ oz. Italian Amaro
¼ oz. Bitter Orange Liqueur
¼ oz. Danish Cherry Liqueur
4 Dashes House-made Orange Bitters
1 Orange Twist
Pour all ingredients over ice and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a flambéed orange twist.
Travis Fourmont
&
THE LINEAGE
by CHARLES TAPPAN, WASHINGTON, DC
2 oz. Woodford Reserve
1 oz. Lillet Rose
2 Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
1 ½ Smoked Honey Ice Cubes
Ice
Garnish: 1 Woodford Reserve and cane sugar flambéed Amarena cherry
Smoked Honey Ice Cubes:
Combine ½ cup honey with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil in a stainless steel saucepan over high heat (takes approx. 2 minutes and 20 seconds to achieve proper temperature). Boil for 1 minute and remove from heat. Add ¾ oz. organic lapsang souchong™ Tea Leaves and whisk for 10 seconds. Quickly strain mixture into second bowl, removing all tea leaves. Fill ice tray with mixture and add 2 drops of Woodford Reserve to each cube and freeze.
Flambéed Amarena Cherries:
Charles Tappan
Instructions:
Immerse cherries one at a time into a cup of Woodford Reserve. Coat each in cane sugar and add to a long metal skewer. Pour ¼ oz. Woodford Reserve into a metal measuring cup and heat with kitchen torch until the bourbon begins to boil and sizzle. Rest skewered flambeed cherry across the top.
Cocktail:
Crush half of the smoked honey ice cubes in a pint glass and top with regular ice. Add the liquids and stir until honey smoked ice is dissolved. Place a flambéed cherry into a chilled cocktail glass. Pour mixture through a julep strainer over garnish into a chilled glass.
THE JERRY THOMAS EXPERIMENT
by MARC YANGA, PHILADELPHIA, PA
2 oz. Woodford Reserve
1 oz. Carpano Antica® Formula
¼ oz. Orange Curacao (50% Grand Marnier; 50% Simple Syrup)
3 Dashes Regan’s No.6™ Orange Bitters
1 Spray of a Mixture of Campari & Marasca Cherry Liqueur
1 Orange Peel
Chill a cocktail coupe and set aside. In a separate mixing glass filled with ice, combine all ingredients, except the Campari/masrasca mixture and stir for 30 seconds. Strain into the chilled cocktail coupe.
Apply 1 spray of Campari/marasca mixture to the top of the glass. Garnish with a flambéed orange peel.
Marc Yanga
THE BIG HORSE
by KYLE GROSZ, PORTLAND, OR
2 oz. Woodford Reserve
¾ oz. Cocchi Barolo Chinato
½ oz. Original Combier
2 Dashes Fee Brothers™ Old Fashioned Bitters
Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with Woodford Reserve and vanilla infused cranberries.
Kyle Grosz
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