Manhattan, Manhattans, Moroccans, McSorley's

The debate continues about the exact dollar amount paid for which pieces of land and from whom and what rights/titles were given, but in on this day in 1626 Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan from the Indians.

All I know is that moments after the papers were signed, the first bar must have opened. Many, many bars have opened their doors since then and here is an interesting article on some of the oldest done by New York magazine. (Included in the article are: Bridge Café, Ear Inn, Chumley's, McSorley's Old Ale House, P.J. Hanley's) http://nymag.com/nymetro/nightlife/barbuzz/11924/ 

Although we've previously covered the Manhattan drink (see our 2/21 post), here is a very convenient twist.  

The Historical Inebriant:  High West Manhattan
http://www.highwest.com/spirits/36th-vote-barreled-manhattan/
     


Ingredients:

• Ice
• Cocktail Glass
• One Cherry
• High West 36th Vote Barreled Manhattan

Combine ingredients, drink.

The High West Barreled Manhattan Story:

The 36th Vote™ commemorates Utah's role as the deciding vote to end Prohibition. In fact, the Utah delegation WANTED to cast the final vote. "No other state shall take away this glory from Utah" proclaimed the leader of the state delegation and president of the Utah League for Prohibition Repeal. On December 5th 1933 at 5:32 PM EST, satisfied that the thirty-fifth state (Pennsylvania) had ratified, Utah delegate S.R. Thurman cast the last ballot for Utah and the 18th amendment's fate was sealed. High West Distillery chose the Manhattan for this celebration because of its classic appeal and timelessness - it's also our favorite mixed drink! We used the pre-Prohibition recipe of two parts rye whiskey to one part sweet vermouth and two dashes of bitters. We then married the mixture in the rye whiskey's American white oak barrel for 90 days, allowing the flavors to integrate in a well-balanced harmony of the rye's spiciness, the vermouth's herbs, and the bitters' complexity. We hope you take time to celebrate Repeal Day and thank Utah for its role in ending the Noble Experiment.

Insert shameless plug for one of my favorite local establishments where I first tried this drink:

If you're ever in Stamford, CT, please stop in and see my friends at The Fez. There's always High West behind the bar, fantastic Moroccan fare on the tables and great live music on the stage.  Tell'em an Inebriant sent you.

http://www.thefez1.com/

Rum, rum...got drunk on Rum, or, Why was there no post this morning?

This Post was originally titled "Rum, rum...got drunk on Rum.  Check back tomorrow for pass."
That should have read check back tomorrow for "pics" but such was my state of mind this morning.

When I revisited the blog tonight, I realized I liked the title and decided to keep it.  Although its been a long time in between hangovers, it's like riding a bike, you never truly forget.  Having somewhat recovered, and since I can photographically recap some of the nights events, I thought a pictorial of the evening might be interesting.

Last night starts out very innocently at Rizzuto's, meeting friends (including my old friend Dennis who used to bartend at Telluride and now does the same at Rizzuto's) and sampling the very tasty Greenwich Gimlet with Thatcher's liqueur and Grey Goose that they serve there.

At 7:30 the party moves to the Connecticut Cigar Company, my local cigar lounge, and a tasting of Don Q Rum plus a white whiskey called "Death's Door".  If this were a horror movie there would be some pretty ominous music playing right about now!

The Don Q Gran Añejo was so amazingly smooth I was mostly was drinking it neat.  I did return to our presenter numerous times to obtain another sample to "better fathom the depths of the complex flavours". I believe I still had some depth to go before they ran out!

Later on, as one bottle after another of the rums were killed, we began the tasting of the White Whiskey, you remember the name of it right?  Death's Door, like the Grim Reaper, is a very sneaky character and in this movie it's one you don't want to turn your back on!  By the way the story behind the name Death's Door's is interesting and refers to the geographic area (and its inherit perils) where the whiskey is made.

It was then onto The Fez where they have live music every night.  Sorry but no pics, it was too late in the evening but here is one from a few nights earlier.

I did, for the sake of consistency (although the damage had already been done) stayed with the white whiskey and Fez has a great one.  However, this is why there was no blog this morning!

Have a great and safe Cinco de Mayo (be sure to check out my post on Spanish lessons if you have not) the life you save may be your own!