A Manhattan
has three key
ingredients: A
whiskey you like,
sweet vermouth,
and bitters. A
purist will say
you should use
rye. Purists are
idiots. Sweet
vermouth is the
red stuff, and
my personal
bar is stocked
with Noilly Prat
Rouge (1), which
sits alongside
Jerry Thomas’
Own Decanter
Bitters (2). Two
parts whiskey,
one part ver-
mouth, dashes
of bitters to
suit your taste.
Don’t skimp on
the vermouth“My wife has
ignored my
persistent
suggestions that
a commercial
icemaker would
complement
our decor.”
Mixing it Up with
the Manhattan
CREATIVE BARKEEPS ARE FREE TO
CUSTOMIZE THIS CLASSIC COCKTAIL37weight to remove. For example,
because the bags had several
sizable and deep pockets, it was not
uncommon for many dozens of balls
to accumulate. I was in the same
group with Whitey one day when,
at the first tee, he unzipped the long
side pocket of one member’s bag
and pulled out two pair of sturdy
leather spiked shoes.
“Do you think we’re going to
need these today?” he asked the
already shod member.
One item those bag searches
frequently turned up was a familiar
blue drawstring pouch; the former
home to a bottle of Crown Royal.
Before everything in golf became
fancified, the Crown Royal sack
was a nearly ubiquitous piece of
gear that served as a repository for
things a player really did not want
to lose—car keys, cash, wedding
rings, although many would have
rather lost the latter than lose an
automatic two-down press. As with
boat ownership, if you weren’t a
Crown Royal drinker, it was good to
be friends with someone who was.
My brother Tim’s longtime pal
Noga is a Crown Royal man. His first
name is Tom, but my father had a
GIVEN THE CHANCE TO PLAY
AUGUSTA NATIONAL OR HAVE A
COUPLE OF POPS WITH TIMMY,
WHITEY AND NOGA, MICHAEL
CORCORAN WOULDN’T EVEN
HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT.
habit of referring to any friend of
our family by only their last name.
Noga drinks Crown on ice,
but never partakes of a Crown
Manhattan because he says the
vermouth leaves him in a state of
overserveditude.
Despite that wisdom, of late
the Manhattan has been my go-to
while I tend to the weekend steaks
on the grill. For years I have been
trying and failing to replicate
the icy film atop my Manhattans
that I first enjoyed at Gibson’s
in Chicago. I have discussed the
challenge with many bartenders,
and determined the type of ice is
the key factor, however my wife has
ignored my persistent suggestions
that a commercial icemaker would
complement the decor in our
bedroom.
Recently, I had an aha! moment.
In a cocktail shaker, I stirred my
Manhattan ingredients with regular
cubed ice and let the shaker sit for
15 minutes while a stemmed glass
rested in the freezer. My moment of
genius had arrived. I put two hefty
handfuls of ice in a zip-top plastic
bag and gently crushed them with
the flat side of a meat hammer. I
dumped the crushed ice into the
drink, and rattled that thing like a
paint shaker in hardware store, until
finally the outside of it was a sheet
of ice unto itself. I poured. And lo,
a thin glacial layer did form.
I sipped, basking in sublimity,
until the cap of the shaker shot up
like a mortar shell and hit me in the
head leaving a perfectly circular
welt that remained visible well into
the evening. So, we end with this
lesson: If, like me, you mix enough
Manhattan ingredients for two and
a bit drinks and then shiver the
bejejus out of it, do not replace the
cap on your cocktail shaker after you
pour the first glassful. Whatever gas
buildup occurs if you do is enough to
make you realize we really shouldn’t
be putting this stuff in our bodies.
That, my pals, is called science.like you might
with a martini. If
you don’t drink
your Manhattan
up, you should
still mix and chill
it separately
before pouring it
over ice. A bit of
orange peel is a
nice garnish, es-
pecially if you rub
the rim of the
glass with it.
If you want to go
with the classic
Manhattan, try
Bulleit Rye (3).
After one or two,
you won’t notice
that the founder
of the company
couldn’t spell
“bullet” or his
own name.
For a variation,
use Jim BeamBlack (4). It’s a
lovely Kentucky
bourbon, and
they call their
version a Black
Manhattan. Not
terribly clever in
the naming de-
partment, but a
tasty alternative
nonetheless.
Canadian whis-
keys work well.
So even though
Noga won’t
mix his Crown
Royal (5) with
vermouth, you
can. Maybe you’ll
learn firsthand
why he doesn’t!
For something
really different,
make a Manhat-
tan using South-
ern Comfort (6).
I learned this
from my mother-
in-law. Don’t tell
anyone, but I
actually do drink
these. Oh geez, I
guess I just told
everyone.13456Large
& In Charge
JUMBOMAX OVERSIZED GRIPS PROVIDE
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DeChambeau is a believer, in
full-swing clubs and his putter
(see page 66). jumbomax.com2