Drink 114: Sucks and the City 2

Still better than Sex and the City 2

Early on in TBIAW, Mrs. Bottle and I tried the Manhattan.  If you didn't just click that link (and I recommend you always click our links), here is the short version of our review: "The Manhattan consists of whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters. It tastes more like it is made out of ass."  Why am I bringing this up?  Because today we bring you the Manhattan (Dry) and here is the review: The Manhattan (Dry) consists of whiskey, dry vermouth, and Angostura bitters. It tastes more like it is made out of slightly less ass.

The only difference in the two Manhattans is the vermouth.  Luckily for us, this one used dry vermouth, which is slightly less gross than sweet vermouth.  We also used rye this time instead of bourbon. I'm not sure why we did that since both of us preferred bourbon to rye in our whiskey taste test.  Regardless it did seem slightly better than the Manhattan. We were also supposed to garnish with an olive, but Mrs. Bottle hates olives and doesn't allow them in the house so that was a non-starter.  She won't let me eat olives, either, so I don't even know if I like them.  I'm sure that the olive would have made this drink awesome, though.

Overall Rating for the Manhattan (Dry)

Taste: 2
Ease of Preparation: 4

Presentation: 3
Drinks until blackout: 4 – A little over 35% alcohol

Ingredients:

2 oz Whiskey

.5 oz Dry Vermouth

1 dash Angostura Bitters

Day 16: Sucks and the City

Cherry Bomb

Neither Mrs. Bottle nor I had heard of most of the drinks we have tried so far, so for today’s drink we decided to go with something classic, the Manhattan.  The Manhattan consists of whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Angostura bitters. It tastes more like it is made out of ass.

Okay, that may be a bit harsh (just like this drink…rim shot!).  We suspect that we didn’t like the Manhattan because we don’t like whiskey.  We both thought the drink mostly tasted and smelled like straight bourbon.  In order to test this, we poured a little Wild Turkey into a glass and tried it straight.  It turns out that the Manhattan is much better than straight bourbon, similar to the way a punch in the stomach is better than a punch in the junk.

I wondered how this drink became a classic so I did some research and it turns out the Manhattan was invented some time in the mid to late 1800’s.  Then it became clear to me: The people of the late 1800’s had no idea how to have fun.  A popular leisure activity of the time was hoop and stick.  Wee! No wonder this drink became popular.  It bested the current champion, Gin and Soot.

Time for a Game of Hoop and Stick

We still hope that we can develop a palate for whiskey.  Obviously a lot of people like it so it must be possible to enjoy it.   Until that happens, it will be tough for any of the whiskey drinks to earn a high score.

Luckily for us, there are at least two more variations on the Manhattan left for us to try.  We can hardly wait.

Overall Rating:

Taste: 2 – Only because we are giving the benefit of the doubt to whiskey fans.

Ease of Preparation: 4

Presentation: 4 – It has a cherry!

Drinks until blackout: 4 – A little over 35% alcohol

Ingredients:

2 oz Whiskey

.5 oz Sweet Vermouth

1 dash Angostura Bitters