Thread by @DavidWondrich

With Lo-Fi Lush Hour no. 26 we mark the beginning of week five of the ol’ LFLH (I missed a couple of days back in week 1, for those of you with math skills). That’s waaaay too much of this shit, but onward we sail.

Today’s Toast? The Manhattan. Because who doesn’t need a Manhattan? It’s a little pool of ice-cold 1882 America reaching forward to say “you’ll make it through this.” So let’s dip ‘em, soap ‘em and rinse ‘em and git to mixin’.

For a Manhattan, you need whiskey. Straight rye whiskey, good and strong. If you don’t got, a strong bourbon will work just fine (better in fact than an 80-proof rye).

We’re also gonna need a good Italian vermouth, and none of this horseshit of just using an eye dropper-full of it. (And yes, I know that one of these is Spanish; it’s the style that’s Italian: red, sweet and pungent).

Bitters and a twist. If you want a cherry, you’ll have to get your own. (And no, you don’t need to use @dsoneil’s fabulous Abbott’s bitters, but if you’ve got ‘em, why wouldn’t you? If you don’t, Angostura is the industry standard for a reason.)

The gear. I’ll be mixing it in a so-called “Hoffman House glass,” like they did back in 1882. Just because.

And also just because, let’s make this one 50-50 vermouth and rye, like the Manhattan Club, whose drinknit was, made theirs. So. Ounce and a half vermouth.

I’m using the the rather robust Cinzano 1757...

...because I’m gonna cheat a little on the rye and use the barrel-strength Michters, which clocks in at a husky 109 proof.

(It was an ounce and a half of the whiskey, of course.)

Now the bitters. 2-3 dashes oughtta do it.

Let’s crack some ice (you know the drill).

And stir. In a short glass like this one, you need to be a little careful or you’ll be sharing your drink with the bartop—or in this case, the kitchen counter.

Strain.

Snap the twist over the top.

And there stands the glass. It might be my first one today, but I strongly suspect it ain’t gonna be my last.

Today’s Lo-Fi Lush Hour has been brought to you by Evervess, because a dime-size bottle beats a dime bag any day—you can trust the parrot on that.