My lovely wife and I were so happy that a new wine bar opened in Chicago this last weekend that we ran out of the house to check it out. It is the brain child of Shane and Jill Kissack in Andersonville - Chicago, owners of a great bottle shop called In Fine Spirits that houses not only excellent wines at all price points (that are hard to find or off the grocery store radar) but they have killer micro brew beers and premium sake! So they do it again and bring to sleepy and adorable Andersonville a brave new wine bar. But guess what? At a wine bar I was lured into COCKTAILS. And they were unbelievably good. I try not to discriminate in my drinking (I drink any and all types of beverages, someone needs to keep up with those mixologists) so I was convinced by an extremely enthusiastic and adept bartender, Carlo, to try his signature, old school Manhattan. This was, without a doubt the best Manhattan that I’ve ever had. Perfectly balanced, perfectly chilled and flavors and aromas that were seamless with one another. Here is Carlo’s recipe:
2oz. Benchmark Bourbon
1oz. Sweet Vermouth
Tiny, tiny splash of marasca liqueur and two skewered dark/black cherries. Shake and stir!
So, the unexpected amazing intoxicologist at a Chicago wine bar blows my mind, not with deft and savvy wine stories or poetic and romantic histories of European wines, but with a classic American cocktail that left a sweet memory. It was so good I had to post it. Go figure, or better yet, go get a cocktail!
What a great opportunity for me to learn something new. Thanks for the post.