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Ingredients:
4 parts Knob Creek Bourbon
1 part sweet Vermouth
1 part dry Vermouth
Directions:
Pour into shaker filled with ice. Shake relentlessly and strain into a martini glass. Toss in a cherry if you feel...whatever.
My roommate bombed a job interview, so I decided to get him bombed. Bourbon, vermouth, and bitters... oh my. It’s never worked for me. I spent a year trying variations of the Manhattan, playing with portions and ingredients in an attempt at something less than nauseating. It never worked.
Eventually, I found that one basic principle prevails: better ingredients make a better drink. That’s how I found the Perfect Knob. Knob Creek is my favorite mass-market bourbon. The only way to make something resembling a decent Manhattan is to use a reliable bourbon like Knob Creek. Also, instead of using just sweet vermouth, I decided to use half sweet and half dry. Hence the qualification to its moniker--“perfect."
In the portions listed above, you might notice the absence of bitters. Reason? Bitters are expensive, hard to find, and ultimately unnecessary. If you take a damned good bourbon, toss a few aperitifs on top and serve the concoction freezing cold, you will have an intense combination of flavors.
The Perfect Knob is unique. The bourbon flavor cuts through the extras, but it is dulled a bit by the vermouth and the cold. What you wind up with is a cocktail that rolls down the throat while leaving the mind numb to most stimuli.
The Perfect Knob helped my roommate forget about his heinous interview--flawlessly. It also let me get away with insulting a long time friend. I had to explain to her that the only reason anyone hired her to be a waitress was her nice (spectacular) rack. She was numbed enough to hear me out. A Perfect Knob--albeit not mine--lifted her spirits.
Why should you give this cocktail a try? Well, if you’re a 65-year-old man from Kentucky in town to see the Empire State Building, this is a safe bet. If you’re a twenty-something hanging out on the Lower East Side, you might want to forego the fancy drink. I have to admit, the only time I ever enjoyed serving this cocktail was to a cute blonde who ordered her “Perfect Knob” through the slightest southern drawl. Hot.
If you’ve got thirty bucks and a friend you want to get hosed, stop by your liquor store and grab a bottle of Knob Creek and some sweet and dry vermouth. Or, if you see a straight-from-the-farm blonde hanging out at some midtown bar, go say “hi." Command the barkeep to bring her a Perfect Knob. Hopefully, the next one she wants will be yours.
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