The Glenhattan

THE GLENHATTAN

Good day again, cocktail lovers! Today's cocktail is a bit of a "mix-and-match" if you will. Well, in all honesty it's just an awesome variant of the all known Manhattan (editor's note: Oh gosh that picture of the Manhattan I made a long time ago looks horrible by normal standards!). Introducing the Glenhattan.

But let's go back a little bit. The "story" of this cocktail stems from roughly one year back. I was having a discussion regarding Manhattans in general and one was intrigued to make one using Laphroaig. To those who do not know, Laphroaig is a heavily smoked/peaty whiskey; the mother of all Islay whiskies.

The result was, well, according to him, as expected. I haven't tried one myself and aren't really inclined to test it in the near future either. Nonetheless, one night after heading back from work I was fiddling with this idea; "What else could I use instead of bourbon to make a Manhattan?" Then it struck me.

Some time ago I received a bottle of Glenfiddich 15yo as a present from my mother-in-law. I definitely had to try that. I was surprised how well the Solera vatted scotch worked in this one:

• 5 cl Glenfiddich 15yo
• 2.5 cl sweet vermouth (rosso)
• 1-2 dashes angostura bitters
• 3 maraschino cherries (for garnish)

In a cocktail glass, add your ingredients (except for the garnish duh), add ice, stir until properly cold/diluted and strain into a cocktail glass. Use a cocktail-pick with three maraschino cherries in it and drop it in the glass. Serve and enjoy.

MARASCHINO CHERRIES
In a sterilized jar, put your desired amount of cherries (I used dried ones...at least they were significantly smaller than cherries bought from a farmer's market) and top the jar with maraschino liqueur. Lasts indefinitely (read: until eaten)

First comments; smooth. Clear notes of honey and a silky texture. It's powerful but not as coarse as the whiskey is clearly more aged/matured. I give this cocktail my approval!