Bibulo.us - We plead the 21st.

Death's Door Spirits

Sometimes what you really need is a blaze of white.

The Classic and Vintage Roadshow bringing together a variety of distillers at Nopa in March also gave us the opportunity to sample the lovely range of clear spirits from Death's Door of Madison, Wisconsin. We've previously enjoyed their excellent gin in an Old Fashioned mixed by Kirk Estopinal at The Violet Hour – a recipe we don't normally associate with gin, but a truly fine spirit like this demonstrates exactly how that simple foundation is strong enough to hold up the whole modern edifice of cocktails.

Death's Door's vodka is a perfectly delightful example of the species, but vodka is never our first choice of ingredients, so we moved quickly on to taste their white whiskey. This chameleon spirit has been showcased for us in cocktails recently by the Nopa team, but it was fascinating to try it on it's own. White dog whiskey is young, but not too hot and brings a range of subtle notes ready to be amplified by the other ingredients in a drink. Paul Clarke has compared this spirit to Dutch genever with its rich, malty flavors.

We enjoyed spending a few minutes chatting with Death's Door president and distiller Brian Ellison and sampling his beautiful, small-batch products, all of which we recommend you seek out for your own enjoyment.

Sonoma Libre

While it is not inappropriate to label it "vinegar", Sonomic is unlike any we've tried. From our first taste of its complexity we knew this sweet, tart syrup was destined for our cocktail glasses.

A few brief rounds of experimentation - and perhaps a flash of divine inspiration from Bacchus - brought us to an incredibly simple drink to make that has a complex taste which defies tasters to identify the ingredients and prompts looks of incredulity when telling them there are only two.

Sonoma Libre

2 ounces Rittenhouse Rye 100 (or other strong, spicy rye whiskey)
.5 ounce Sonomic cabernet grape vinegar

Stir with ice to chill and serve in a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with a small lime wheel.

Sonomic is the result of a collaboration between winemaker Bill Reading of Sonoma Valley Portworks, distiller Don Payne of Stillwater Spirits, and chef Mike Giacomini, one of Payne's business partners. After only being available in the tasting rooms of Sonoma Valley Portworks, it is newly available in select stores or from Bella Mia Gifts. (A bottle has also, to our surprise, pleasure, and slight exasperation with Neyah White's unerring ingredient radar, already appeared on the backbar at Nopa).

Kent Howard

Don't let his frequent smile and jokes lead you to underestimate him; this man takes bartending very seriously.

Kent is part of Neyah White's excellent team at Nopa in San Francisco, which is where we first received his jovial attention and delicious drinks.

He also works as a consultant for clients such as aspiring new standard The Association in Los Angeles, for whom he is already earning praise for his classics-driven direction. With terms like "reverential" being applied in the press to their menu, hardcore cocktailians are advised to sit up and take notice.

We're very pleased to see him sharing his knowledge in the southland, but are glad he's usually to be found conveniently within a mile of us, ready to brighten our evenings.

Neyah White

It's the small decisions that make a truly great bartender. Sitting at the bar at Nopa I watched Neyah White make a basic order: a Sazerac and an Old Fashioned. Every choice - the glassware, the bitters, the whiskey (after inquiring "bourbon or rye for that  Old Fashioned?") - was spot on. It is the smallest choice, though, which shows the most skill and consideration. He built the Old Fashioned with care - no 'fruit salad' here - and then mixed the Sazerac, stirred it a properly long time for a lovely chill, and only then did he add two ideally sized ice cubes to the Old Fashioned. Perfect timing for two very different drinks, minimizing unwanted melt. Maybe it's obvious when you care, but so many don't. Neyah, and his staff, care.

Honored by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the six Bay Area bartenders picked as 2008's Bar Stars, he is another bartender we admire for his careful use of ingredients and the creation of his own where appropriate. His knowledge of spirits is prodigious and appears to be ever-growing; nor is he loathe to share the wealth. Newcomers to cocktails and old experts can both benefit from a conversation with this cocktail ambassador.

Neyah is the bar manager at Nopa in San Francisco where he has built a strong reputation for great housemade bitters, tinctures and liqueurs used in exemplary drinks ranging from spirits-driven classics to kitchen-inspired local showcases. The Manhattan entry here on bibulo.us is graced by a picture of his Jerry Thomas style version of the drink, featuring his own recreation of Abbott's bitters.

As of June 2010, Neyah is following his love of brown spirits to become the West Coast Brand Ambassador for Yamazaki Single Malts.

The Manhattan

The Manhattan is one of the archetypal classic cocktails and it is here we begin the bibulo.us journey.

It is basically some whiskey, usually less sweet vermouth, plus a dash of some kind of bitters. Traditionally it is made with rye, the spiciness of which plays nicely with the flavors of the vermouth. It originated in New York, probably in the 1870s, but beyond that there is disagreement over its precise origin.

The personal experience of the bibulo.us authors is to recommend Carpano Antica Formula as the vermouth most suited to the drink.

Recipes:

1884 How To Mix Drinks - Bar Keeper's Handbook [by George Winter?] (cited by Wondrich 2007)

2 or 3 dashes of Peruvian Bitters
1 to 2 dashes (.5 tsp) of gum syrup
One-half wine glass (1.5 oz) of whiskey
One-half wine glass (1.5 oz) of vermouth
(no garnish mentioned)

1892 The Flowing Bowl by William "The Only William" Schmidt (cited by Wondrich 2007)

Half a tumblerful of cracked ice
2 dashes (.5 tsp) of gum
2 dashes of bitters
1 dash of absinthe
2/3 drink (2 oz) of whiskey
1/3 drink (1 oz) of vino vermouth
(a little (1/4 tsp) marschino may be added)

1895 Modern American Drinks by George J. Kappeler

Fill mixing glass half-full fine ice
2 dashes gum syrup
2 dashes Peyschaud [sic] or Angostura bitters
1 half jigger Italian vermouth
1 half jigger whiskey
Mix, strain into cocktail glass
Garnish with piece of lemon peel or a cherry

Dry version: without syrup or cherry.
Extra dry version: dry version with French vermouth instead of Italian

1907 The World's Drinks and How To Mix Them by William "Cocktail" Boothby

2 dashes of orange bitters
2 drops of Angostura bitters
1/2 jiggerful of Italian vermouth
1/2 jiggerful of bourbon whiskey
Stir, strain and twist & squeeze a lemon peel over the top.

A variant with a faint touch of Curacao apparently was all the rage among the science community in the early 20th century:

1910 The Scientific American Cyclopedia of Formulas Partly Based Upon the 28th Ed. of Scientific American Cyclopedia of Receipts, Notes and Queries by Albert Allis Hopkins

Vermouth wineglassful
whisky wineglassful
simple syrup 30 drops
Angostura bitters 10 drops
Curacoa 6 drops
a little shaved ice
lemon peel 1 small strip

Put all the ingredients except the lemon rind into a large tumbler
cover the top closely shake well and strain into a wineglass
Place the strip of lemon peel on the top and serve.

1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock

2 dashes curacao or maraschino
1 pony rye whisky
1 wineglass vermouth (mixed)
3 dashes Angostura bitters
2 small lumps of ice
Shake, strain, garnish with one quarter slice of lemon.

or

1 dash Angostura bitters
2/3 Canadian Club whisky
1/3 Ballor Italian vermouth
Shake, strain, garnish with cherry.

or

Sweet version: equal parts Italian vermouth and rye whisky, no garnish.
Dry version: half rye whisky, 1/4 each French & Italian vermouth.

1933 The American Bar Guide by R.C. Miller (2nd edition)

1/2 wine glass whiskey
1/2 wine glass vermouth
2 dashes bitters
3 dashes gum syrup
Strain in cocktail glass.

1935 The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book by Albert Stevens Crockett

Dash of orange bitters
One-half Italian vermouth
One-half rye whiskey (stir)
Serve with maraschino cherry

or

2 dashes orange bitters
2 pinches sugar
One-half Italian vermouth
One-half Irish whiskey

1946 The Stork Club Bar Book by Lucius Beebe

2/3 oz rye whisky
1/3 oz Italian vermouth
Decorate with maraschino cherry, stir, and serve.

1998 Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century by Paul Harrington

2 oz rye
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1 to 2 dashes Angostura bitters (optional)
Stir, strain, garnish with maraschino cherry.

2002 Esquire Drinks by David Wondrich

Stir well with cracked ice
2 oz good rye
1 oz Italian vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters or orange bitters
Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with [lemon] twist or maraschino cherry.

2006 The Art of the Bar by Jeff Hollinger & Rob Schwartz

"Uptown" Manhattan
2 oz bourbon (preferably Maker's Mark)
1 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
Dash of Angostura bitters
Dash of orange bitters
3 brandied cherries for garnish
Orange twist for garnish

Robert Hess' The Cocktail Spirit video demonstration

Steve & Paul's Cocktail Buzz episode pairing the drink with bacon-wrapped dates

Chris Doig's Brilliant Cocktails video demonstration

Other useful references:

History & recipe variants in Imbibe! by David Wondrich, pages 236-243

Wikipedia entry

Wikitender entry