Deciding which recipes to run with articles is painful at times, and my recent piece in Imbibe! was no different. The magazine’s editors picked the Girl From Cadiz, a Hendrick’s cocktail created by Ryan Maybee to represent Manifesto and The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange. It is indeed a delicious drink, good enough to be a finalist in the 2007 Vinos de Jerez Sherry cocktail competition.
Still, I can’t help but publish a few others here. First is the Smokin’ Choke, Maybee’s signature cocktail since Manifesto opened.
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This modernized version of the Old Fashioned should not be rushed—it needs plenty of stirring time to fully incorporate and chill the maple syrup with the other ingredients.
To make the Smokin’ Choke: combine 2 ounces applewood smoked Four Roses Yellow bourbon (recipe follows), 1 barspoon Cynar, 1 barspoon Grade B maple syrup and 3-4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters in a bar glass. Add ice and stir briskly until well chilled. Place one large cube of ice in a chilled Old Fashioned glass; strain cocktail into prepared glass using a julep strainer. Garnish with an orange twist.
To make the applewood smoked bourbon: Pour desired amount of bourbon into a large glass container, leaving room for smoke. Set up and light a PolyScience Smoking Gun according to manufacturer’s instructions. Insert hose, allowing smoke to blow into the bourbon. Once smoke dissipates, remove hose and cap container.
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Another favorite that didn’t make it in was the Jackson Co. Democratic Club Cocktail, a Last Word riff named for the organization headed by Tom “Boss” Pendergast during Prohibition. (Pendergast’s old office is just two doors down from Manifesto.)
Here’s how to make it: combine 1 ounce Rittenhouse Rye 100, 3/4 ounce Yellow Chartreuse, 3/4 ounce Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, 3/4 ounce lemon juice and 2 dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters with ice and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a flamed orange zest.
And that Girl From Cadiz? She just made it into the 75th anniversary edition of the Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide, along with Manifesto’s The Brothers Perryman.
How to make the Girl From Cadiz: muddle 1 mint sprig, 1 barspoon dried juniper berries, 1/2 ounce lemon juice and 1/2 ounce simple syrup in a shaker. Add 1-1/2 ounces Hendrick’s gin, 1-1/2 ounces fino sherry (Maybee uses Lustau) and ice. Shake vigorously, double-strain into a chilled Collins glass and garnish with a stalk of lemongrass.