I bought a bottle of Old Overholt a few years back on the recommendation of a fellow Doper and drunk. Vile stuff. Made me reconsider taking advice from this person. But the wife and I have been “cocktailing” it lately, and tonight I decided to try my Manhattan recipe with Old Overshoe. It was magnificent! So have faith…that ingredient you can’t use just might pay off some day.
The Perfect Manhattan
1.5 measures rye whiskey
.5 measures sweet vermouth
4-7 shakes Angostura bitters
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry or two.
The Wife’s Dirty Martini
1.5 measures ice cold Grey Goose vodka
.25 measures dry vermouth
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Add a splash of olive juice and garnish with two large stuffed olives.
It’s great in an Old Fashioned, too. (I somehow get the feeling I’m the poster you’re talking about. I dunno, I still think Old Overcoat is a steal for the price. I like it better than the Beam and Wild Turkey in the same price range.)
edit: Whiskey Magazine seems to like it well enough, with its two reviewers giving it 7.75 and 8.
For comparison’s sake, they give Rittenhouse 8.25 and 6.75. They do like the Wild Turkey (and I do, too, to tell you the truth, although it’s a little “hot” at 50.50% abv for my tastes) at 8 and 8.5. I still maintain Old Overholt is a steal at the price. A steal. And good quality.
Well, there’s a Manhattan, a dry Manhattan, and a Perfect Manhattan. The first has sweet, the second dry, and the third both. At least that’s how they were made back in the day when I was tending bar.
Ah, I didn’t realize there was a capital-P “Perfect Manhattan.” Looks like that should include both sweet and dry vermouth, from what I can find online.