Leaving Manhattan
the final winning “Master of the Manhattan,” by Joann Spiegel from Manhattan, Mercury Bar West

2 oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
1/2 oz. Punt e Mes Italian vermouth
1/4 oz. Lapsang Tea Syrup*
1/4 oz. Dark Creme de Cocoa
2 dashes Orange Bitters

Instructions:

- Combine ingredients over ice in shaker, stir and strain.

- Strain into martini glass and garnish with dark chocolate stick with orange spiral.

*Lapsang Tea Syrup – Use Lapsang tea bags and brew a strong cup of tea. Use the tea to make a simple syrup with equal parts tea and sugar

The Hothead Manhattan
by Christopher Asay, winner from Asbury Park, NJ

Woodford Reserve Bourbon
Jalapeño infused ginger syrup
Vermouth

- In heat resistant container ignite 3 oz Woodford Reserve with 1 ½ oz jalapeño infused ginger syrup and ¾ set vermouth.

- Also add ¾ oz high proof rum and 4 dashes bitters and ignite in 2nd heat resistant container.

- Add 3 oz boiling water. Pass solution back and forth w/ ignited water.

The Absinthe Minded Professor
James Potter, winner from Atlanta

2 oz Woodford Reserve
¾ oz Chai-infused sweet vermouth
¼ oz orange liqueur

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

The Mayan 212
Jessica Fesler, winner from Las Vegas

2 oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
1 oz. Licor 43
2 dashes bitters infused w/ red chili pepper

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

Chicago Sunday
Johnny Abens, winner from Chicago

2 oz. Woodford Reserve
¼ oz. maple syrup
4 dashes peach bitters
¼ oz. lemon juice

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

Mixologist Joann Spiegel, winner of the "Well-Crafted Manhattan", photo courtesy Woodford Reserve

Woodford Dey Manhattan
Michael Cerretani, winner from Denver

2 oz. Woodford Reserve
¼ oz. bitters
¼ oz. vermouth
¼ oz. yellow chartreuse build

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

The Big Orange
Matt McCullough, winner from Scottsdale, AZ

2 oz. Woodford Reserve
½ oz. Tuaca
½ oz. Orange liqueur
¼ oz. Madeira

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

Blackened Cherry Manhattan
Erik Thompson, winner from Washington D.C.

2 oz. Woodford Reserve
1 oz. sweet vermouth
5 sprays cherry bitters

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

The Big Apple
John Miller, winner from Annapolis

2 oz. Maple infused Woodford Reserve
1 oz. cinnamon infused vermouth
2 dashes baked apple bitters

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

Mr. October
Nick Nistico, winner from Miami

2 ½ oz. Woodford Reserve
1 oz. mandarin liqueur
1 oz. ginger syrup
½ oz. sweet vermouth
2 dashes bitters
2 dashes orange bitters

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

Connecticut Shade Manhattan
Joe Raya, winner from Charleston, South Carolina

2 oz. tabasco infused Woodford Reserve
1 oz. vermouth
1 dash homemade Tabasco bitters

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

Vintage Manhattan
Brien Hendershott, winner from Seattle

2 oz. Woodford Reserve
½ oz. sweet vermouth
½ oz. port vinegar reduction
3 dashes bitters

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

Radiation Blues Manhattan
Colin Shearn, winner from Philadelphia

2 oz. Woodford Reserve
½ oz. Orange curaçao
½ oz. Italian bitters
3 dashes bitters

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

Downtown Manhattan Downtown
Curtis Parker, winner from Indianapolis

2 ½ oz. Woodford Reserve
¼ oz. cherry syrup
1 orange rind
2 coffee beans
2 vanilla beans

Combine all, shake over ice, strain and serve.

Ramsey’s Manhattan
Karla Ramsey, winner from Louisville, KY

2 oz. Woodford Reserve
1 oz. apple brandy
1 oz. sweet vermouth
2 splashes bitters

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

Buffalo Plains Manhattan
Rob Turek, winner from Ohio

1 ½ oz buffalo bacon fat washed Woodford Reserve
¾ oz black peppercorn infused vermouth
¼ oz elderflower liqueur
1 dash chocolate bitters

Combine all, stir over ice, strain and serve.

Special thanks to our team Matt Capucilli, Oresti Tsonopoulos, Alexandra Stewart and David Capucilli. All photos by Oresti Tsonopoulos unless noted.

Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest:

1. Cider Manhattan by Jeromy Edwards
2. Sleepless in Manhattan by Jason Asavadejkajorn
3. Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience Winner and Recipe 2012: Joann Spiegel

“Leaving Manhattan” – Winning Manhattan Recipe from Joanne Spiegel of Mercury Bar West

2 oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
1/2 oz. Punt e Mes Italian vermouth
1/4 oz. Lapsang Tea Syrup*
1/4 oz. Dark Creme de Cocoa
2 dashes Orange Bitters

Instructions:

Combine ingredients over ice in shaker and shake.

Strain into martini glass and garnish with dark chocolate stick with orange spiral.

*Lapsang Tea Syrup – Use Lapsang tea bags and brew a strong cup of tea. Use the tea to make a simple syrup with equal parts tea and sugar

Joann Spiegel was a very warm-hearted and humble bartender. Originally from Ireland, Joann moved to New York in 1998.

BourbonBlog.com‘s Matt Capucilli also says, “I was fortunate enough to spend some time with her group at the event. Well before the winner was announced, I asked Joann how she did. She quickly responded with “I didn’t win”. Reminding her that the competition wasn’t over yet, I said that she still had a chance. She replied ‘I’ll bet you a thousand dollars I didn’t win.’ When she ultimately took the crown, we were both quite happy and had a good laugh about that little bet.”

The competitors for this Manhattan Experience finale event were bartenders and mixologists who won semi-finals competition in their respective cities across the country.

They gathered in New York to showcase their winning Manhattans in front of a panel of judges including Leo Robitschek, David Wondrich and Gary Regan at Dream Hotel Downtown in Manhattan. Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris was also there.

Mixologist Joanne Spiegel wins Master of the Manhattan and poses with Woodford Reserve MIxologist Chris Morris, Mixologist Joanne Spiegel wins Master of the Manhattan and poses with Woodford Reserve MIxologist Chris Morris, photo by Matt Capucilli

A contestant at the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience finale prepares his manhattan

Master Distiller Chris Morris with BourbonBlog.com's Matt Capucilli at the Manhattan Experience Finale 2012, photo courtesy Matt Capucilli

Special thanks to our team Matt Capucilli, Oresti Tsonopoulos, Alexandra Stewart and David Capucilli. All photos by Oresti Tsonopoulos unless noted.

Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest:

1. Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience Contest Finals at Soho Mews with Esquire Magazine by Matt Capucilli
2. Woodford Reserve and Esquire Magazine Crown Jeromy Edwards “Master of the Manhattan” Tonight in New York City
3. Woodford Reserve and Esquire Magazine’s Manhattan Experience

Master Distiller Jim Rutledge tells BourbonBlog.com he changes it up a bit by using a bit more Bourbon and forgetting the Rum. They still regularly receive requests for this recipe at Four Roses Distillery and we’re sharing it with you below along with a photo of that original Life magazine advertisement.

Four Roses Egg Nog Recipe

Ingredients

Four Roses Yellow Label Bourbon
6 Eggs
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Sugar
Milk
Cream
Jamaican Rum

Instructions:

1) Beat separately yolks and whites of 6 eggs.
2) Add 1/2 cup of sugar to yolks while beating.
3) Add 1/4 cup of sugar to whites after they have been beaten very stiff.
4) Mix egg whites with yolks.
5) Stir in 1 pint of cream and 1 pint of milk.
6) Add a pint of Four Roses Bourbonand 1 oz. Jamaican rum. Stir thoroughly and serve very cold.

Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest:

1. Four Roses Eggnog Recipe from Life Magazine
2. Maker’s Mark Eggnog
3. Bourbon Balls and Eggnog..More Bourbon Recipes for Christmas

Since late 2009 it has been steadily gaining a steady increase in popularity, achieving cult status in major cities across the US.

It starts in Bolivia, where three times a year traditional Bolivian farmers harvest their coca leaf crop and bring them to market.

The finest coca leaves are handpicked and flown over 8500 miles to a state of the art distillery in Amsterdam, where they are macerated and de-cocainized and made into a coca leaf liqueur.

Natural coca leaf distillate is blended with 36 herbs including Guarana and Yerba Mate to truly capture the Incan spirit of Bolivia.

AGWA Bellini
Ingredients

0.7oz AGWA de Bolivia, Champagne

Preparation

Celebrate the arrival of 2012 with a champagne toast that has an exciting AGWA twist! Pour AGWA into a champagne flute. Fill to the top with cold champagne and stir gently. The green color of AGWA makes this cocktail more festive and offers a nice version of this classic holiday drink.

The Green Angel

Ingredients

8 Basil leaves, 12.5 ml Pallini Limoncello, 37.5 ml Martin Millers Gin, 25 ml Agwa, 25 ml pure apple juice, vanilla sugar.

Preparation

In a chilled Boston glass place 7 Basil leaves, fill with crushed ice, drizzle the limoncello and stir. Strain off limoncello, add 3 other liquids and stir to taste. Rim the martini glass with a lime wedge and sprinkle vanilla sugar on outside only. Strain Boston contents into glass and serve.

Bolivian Rhapsody

Ingredients

1.5oz  AGWA
½ fresh lime
1 tsp raspberry jam
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 dash cardomon bitters
1 tsp chocolate syrup

Preparation

Muddle lime, sugar, jam, and syrup. Add AGWA and bitters and stir. Top with crushed ice in Collins glass. Garnish with lime zest.

Ginger Tree Cocktail

Ingredients

2 oz Agwa, 4 oz Ginger beer, 2-3 fresh limes wedges (squeezed)

Preparation

Mix ingredients in a chilled glass, and top with crushed ice

(As an alternative you can use ginger ale use 2oz ginger ale & 2oz ginger beer)

Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest:

1. De-cocainized Holiday Cocktails?
2. AGWA de Bolivia, Coca Herbal Liqueur Review
3. Knob Creek Holiday Punch Recipes and more

The photo to left isn’t even of the hotel nor the bar. We are being tricky because we wanted to introduce you to the popular signature drink at The Lanesborough called “The Librarian” recipe below.

The Library Bar, rated by Hardens 2004 as the “Best Hotel Bar in the World,” houses the ‘Liquid History’ collection of vintage cognacs, some of which are more than 200 years old.

The photo below is The Library Bar where distinguished Bar Manager Giuseppe Ruo often hosts exclusive tastings and enlightens aficionados with the storied backgrounds of each spirit.

Strike up a fire and grab a Shakespeare or Dickens classic and make the drink below for the perfect winter’s night in your own living room:

The Librarian

Ingredients:

1 and 3/4 oz. Cognac
1/2 oz. Visciolata Cherry Wine
1/2 oz. Antica Formula Vermouth
Drops of Peychaud Bitters

Garnish:

Address:

The Lanesborough Hotel
Hyde Park Corner London SW1X 7TA, United Kingdom
tel: 020 7259 5599

Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest:

1. Louisville’s 21c Museum Hotel voted #1 Hotel in the U.S. and #6 Hotel in the World by Condé Nast Traveler
2. Early Times and Artist Celeste Susany Derby Event Tonight at 21c Museum Hotel, Louisville
3. Kentucky Derby Hat Preview from Paris Kyne Master Milliner and available for purchase at 21c Museum Hotel, Louisville

Colorado Christmas Fashioned

2.5 oz. Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey
1 Sugar cube
4 dashes Boker’s Holiday Bitters
Maraschino cherry
Half orange slice

Instructions:

1 Place all except whiskey in rocks glass and muddle until becomes slurry.
2. Add Stranahan’s to the mix and place all in tin then dry shake for 30 seconds to break down sugars.
3. Add ice to tin and shake for additional 10 seconds
4. Strain over ice in rocks glass.

Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest:

1. Maker’s Mark Recipes For Christmas Drinks
2. Chocolate Old-Fashioned Cocktail Recipe Demonstrated
3. Maker’s Mark Christmas Sweaters

Blitzen’s Bourbon

2 Parts Basil Hayden’s Bourbon Whiskey
1 Reindeer Spice Syrup (recipe below)
2 Dashes Angostura® Aromatic Bitters
Orange Peel

Instructions for Cocktail

1. In an old-fashioned glass, combine all ingredients and stir 20 times.
2. Garnish with an orange peel.

Reindeer Spice Syrup

3 Apples, peeled and diced
5 Large Cinnamon Sticks
1 cup Walnuts
2 cups Sugar
3 Cups Water

Instructions

1. Place the diced apples into water and boil, then reduce heat to low.
2. Briefly toast cinnamon sticks and walnuts in a saucepan, then transfer into apple mixture.
3. Simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Gently stir in the 2 cups of sugar, thoroughly stirring, and remove from heat.
Once mixture has cooled, strain and press the juice and flavor from the boiled apples back in the mix.

Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest:

1. Chocolate Bourbon Popsicles
2. Wild Turkey American Honey Recipes For Summer and More from Wild Turkey Bourbon
3. Apple Kicking Cider

Flaming Pyroses

1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
3 oz. Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
Dash orange bitters
Candied orange twist
*Smoked cherry

Instructions:

Shake Bourbon, Grand Marinier, and bitters over ice. Strain into martini glass. 
Garnish with cherry and candied orange twist

*To make Smoke Cherry: Soak the cherries in Dry Vermouth and Four Roses Bourbon for a week and then smoke a in the smoker with cherry wood for 5 hours.

This drink was created by Avalon’s Ryan Cohee, winner of the recent Holiday Bourbon Battle in Louisville, Kentucky where mixologists bartenders from Highlands-area restaurants & bars competed in during recent Four Roses 2nd annual Holiday Bourbon Battle in Louisville, Kentucky

The public decided the best holiday bourbon cocktail. Flaming Pyroses,” a drink featuring Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon, Grand Marnier, flaming candied orange peel, smoked Kentucky cherries and orange bitters.

A total of 14 restaurants & bars along Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue in Louisville featured specialty Four Roses holiday cocktails the week of Bardstown Road Aglow. It marked the second year for the contest and the third year Four Roses was title sponsor of Bardstown Road Aglow.

More than 800 votes were submitted via text message, email and Facebook from Nov. 19 through Dec. 4.

No related posts.

As Kina Lillet is typically no longer available, we recommend using Lillet Blanc in place as an alternative to make the famous drink which premiered in the 1953 Ian Flemming novel.

Original Vesper Recipe

3 measures Gordon’s
1 of Vodka
1/2 measure Kina Lillet

“Shake it up over ice, then add a thin slice of lemon peel.”

 
Revised Vesper Cocktail Recipe

1 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Gin
1/2 oz. Lillet Blanc

Combine all in ti and stir over ice until cold. Strain and express with lemon

New cocktail suggestions from BourbonBlog.com Chef/Mixlogist Stephen Dennison

Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest:

1. Candy Corn Cocktail Recipe
2. National Iced Tea Day Recipe with Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka
3. Original Manhattan Cocktail Recipe Demonstrated

Thus, the U.S. Prohibition Era went from January 16, 1920 through December 5, 1933.

To celebrate, we’re sharing a few Prohibition era and classic style cocktails using Bourbons and whiskeys. Enjoy these libations and toast to the United States never seeing Prohibition again!

The Blanhttan Recipe

As a variation of the Manhattan, this cocktails was introduced by Paul Borntraeger at Kentucky Bourbon Festival using Blanton’s Bourbon. Recipe below and also watch our video on this cocktails

3 oz. Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon
1/4 tsp Ground ginger
1/4 tsp Vanilla (not imitation)
1/4 tsp Ground cloves
1/4 tsp Ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
1 tsp Honey
zest of 1 Lemon
zest of 1 Orange
4-8 Whole peppercorns
1/4 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Cane sugar
1 btl KY Riesling
2 oz. KY Cab

Combine all ingredients (except for bourbon) in pot and bring to a slow boil. Once batch is boiling reduce heat add bourbon and let simmer on low heat for half an hour.

Ideally place in a glass jar and let sit for 24 hours. filter and strain (coffee filters take time but work best) and use.

Vieux Carré

The Vieux Carré is yet another classic cocktail making a comeback. In the video below, BourbonBlog.com‘s Tom Fischer demonstrates how to make a Vieux Carré. Here is the recipe.

The Vieux Carré

1 oz. Whistlepig Straight Rye Whiskey
1 oz. Hennessy Cognac VS
1 oz. Noilly Pratt Sweet Vermouth
1 teaspoon Bénédictine D.O.M.
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

Mix all ingredients in an Old Fashioned glass over ice and stir.

The Vieux Carré was invened in 1938 at Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, where the then-head bartender Walter Bergeron created it. The word “Vieux Carré” literally means, “old square” in French. This old term is what we know today as the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Stars Fell on Alabama

2 oz. Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon
2 dashes Peychaud’s Angostura bitters
2 dashes Orange Flower Water
3 barspoons Syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Instructions:

- Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass and stir well
- Strain into a chilled rocks glass rinsed with Absinthe
- Add 1 large piece of lump ice!

Bee’s Knees

Invented during prohibition, the Bees Knee’s was originally made with honey, gin, basil, and lemon said to mask the smell of alcohol. This version is made with Bourbon.

Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon
1/2 oz. Limoncello
1/2 oz. Honey
Shake and strain

Instructions:

- Shake all ingredients over ice in tin
- Srain and serve in Martini glasses

Like this article? Here are some other articles of interest:

1. The Vieux Carré Classic Cocktail Recipe Demonstrated
2. St. Valenshine and other Lovingly “Shiney” Cocktails from Original MOONSHINE
3. Prohibition in Atlanta, Georgia