A few of Dale DeGroff's books came down the chimney the other day, and just in the nick of time. This new-found appreciation for cocktails has kept me quite busy, but I can't help but come back to the Manhattan time and time again. At this point, it is, to my mind, the perfect cocktail.
But there's a whole world of cocktails out there, so these books will help my expand my horizons. Tonight, my horizon expanded, if only slightly...
I noticed a a drink in DeGroff's The Essential Cocktail: The Art of Mixing Perfect Drinks (a book which contains pictures much better than mine), which Mr. DeGroff calls a Kentucky Colonel. The name of the drink alone grabbed my interest. When I saw the name, I figured on bourbon, which is a good place to start in my book. Indeed it's a bourbon drink. From there, it's a simple cocktail to mix, reminiscent of the Manhattan. It reads like this:
2 oz bourbon
3/4 oz Benedictine
a dash (or 2 or 3) orange bitters
Stir. Serve in a cocktail glass.
Old Grand Dad works fine for me. And I used Fee Brothers orange bitters, but will try it with Regan's orange bitters oh, in about 10 minutes.
Anyone who enjoys a Manhattan with a bit of Cointreau (I know you're out there) will surely enjoy this cocktail. It's a bit less, I don't know, "serious" than a standard Manhattan, with its brighter fruity tones. Do give it a shot.
