Lent is over, so last night after returning home from the wake of my uncle who died at age 99, I made a Manhattan using the new
CONTRATTO Sweet Vermouth. The base was
BOOKERS bourbon, which is a bold flavored cask strength bourbon. Actually drank 2 of them. It was a good pairing. A few ice cubes, a couple dashes of
Orange Bitters, a single dash of
Angostura Bitters and 2 cherries.
The only downside is that the BOOKERS is so strong that when made into a mixed drink has a second alcohol and no "mixer" to cut it, it makes for a potent drink, so drinking 2 of them definitely had me over my limit
I used the BOOKERS for only 1 reason, there was only a few ounces in the bottom of the bottle, I needed some space in the liquor cabinet, so I figured I could get rid of that bottle with 1 or 2 drinks. Never made a mixed drink with BOOKERS before. Its really too good for mixed drinks.
The photo below shows my Lenten purchases.
The CONTRATTO Sweet Vermouth is the tall dark bottle, second from the left side of the photo with the painting of the girl for a label. I've hear great things about the other 2 Sweet Vermouths that are in the photo. The COCCHI brand
(far left) is one of the original sweet vermouths ever made. The Carpano ANTICA Recipe
(3rd from left) is also an old recipe vermouth. Both of those are award winners and highly praised when reviewed. Both are known as sweet vermouths that can stand on their own without needing to be mixed into a drink.
Most Sweet Vermouths you find at liquor stores are cheap wine that was 'fortified' with other ingredients, maybe some brandy too.
As for the newly added bourbons, I tried a little of the limited edition Old Forester on Easter Sunday. Its good. Wyoming Whiskey's Bourbon is rumored to be good, but a little young. The Straight Edge is a sourced bourbon, probably from southern Indiana, then shipped to a vineyard in California where it is second aged in wine barrels, again rumored to be very good. The bottle of Sazerac Rye is a classic rye, nothing new to that one, been around for many years, its considered on of the best. I saw it and grabbed it because my other bottle is low. Its hard to find in my area.