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Recipe Detail Page
Chip-Aged Manhattan
Winter 2016
No barrel? No problem! What’s needed in barrel-aging cocktails is the oak, and purchased barrel chips such as those from Jack Daniel’s oak aging barrels are readily available wherever barbecue supplies are sold. A small quantity of these plus a reasonable amount of whisky and vermouth is a great introduction to the art of aging cocktails. For best results, use fresh chips for each batch.
Makes 7 Manhattans
CHIP AGING
10 oz Alberta Premium Dark Horse Whisky
5 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet Red Vermouth
1 oz (30 g) whiskey barrel smoking chips
PER COCKTAIL
2 oz Chip-Aged Manhattan
2 drops Angostura bitters
½ to 1 tsp (2 to 5 mL) brandied cherry juice (optional)
2 to 3 Brandied Cherries (recipe follows)
1 Combine whisky, vermouth and chips in a 2-cup (500-mL) canning jar, which almost fills it to the top. Firmly seal with a new canning seal and ring to prevent flavours being introduced from a used seal and ring. Shake; place in a cool spot away from the light for 10 days.
2 Then begin to taste a teaspoonful daily until the flavours of vanilla, oak and caramel are present and alcohol’s rawness is smoothed out.
3 Pour through a fine strainer into a clean canning jar when ready, thus stopping the aging process. Discard chips or save to use in a barbecue smoker. Cocktail keeps for weeks.
4 To serve 1 Manhattan, add ice to a whisky glass. Pour in 2 oz Chip-Aged Manhattan, stir in bitters and cherry juice. Garnish with a couple of brandied cherries speared on a tiny skewer.
Makes 7 Manhattans
BRANDIED CHERRIES
Using a glass container such as a 1-cup (250‑mL) canning jar, fill about three-quarters full with dried sweetened Montmorency cherries. Pour in enough brandy to generously cover cherries; screw on lid. Let stand at room temperature while barrel-aging the Manhattan. The cherries plump up and become quite flavourful.
