Binny's Blog

Are you a fino fiend? Manic for manzanilla? Amorous for Amontillado? Or maybe you have no idea what any of that means. Whether you're a sherry vet or a sherry noob, this episode has something for you.

We love a good tasting experiment on Barrel to Bottle, so this week we're making Manhattans. A lot of Manhattans. So many Manhattans that we can't keep track of how many we're making. We tried 21 different bitters to see which one makes the best Manhattan.

Sherry has long had an unfair reputation. Dismissed as the stuffy drink of choice for aging British aristocrats, or sickly sweet jug wine more suited to cooking than drinking. Fortunately the variety and quality of sherry is being rediscovered.

Originally, the Sazerac cocktail was made with French brandy. In 1873, the recipe for the Sazerac Cocktail was altered to replace the French brandy with American Rye whiskey. We decided to recreate the original with Hennessy Cognac - plus ginger syrup, a few dashes of barrel aged bitters, and of course, a heavy absinthe rinse.