Manhattan

Gin & Tonic

Ginger ale and bourbon.

If I have my "dranking shoes" on and the mood strikes me right, I do enjoy a good Irish Carbomb. Normally pay for that the next day though.

Otherwise just a bourbon on the rocks or a light beer of some type.

Summertime is my favorite time for nightly drinks and conversation on the deck! We are so lucky to have a great view of nature and varying wildlife, so there’s nothing better than chilling out with a glass of wine or beer as the sun is setting into the gradual darkness.

Last night the group was drinking a white zinfandel & some 50 West. If we do fruity it’s usually mixing up a pitcher of frozen pink lemonade concentrate + vodka + soda water + can of beer. Yum!

Rusty Nail

Bourbon Slush

Sangria

Smith and Kearns

2 shots of Patron. Add ice and 1/2 lime slice. Enjoy!

On 12/2/2014 at 11:55 AM, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

Manhattans for me.

2 oz. Elmer T. Lee
1 dash sweet vermouth
2 dashes of angostura bitters
2 brandied cherries

Combine bourbon, vermouth, and bitters in a rocks glass along with 1 or 2 large ice cubes. (I like using a single large clear ice cube made with my Studio Neat ice maker - they melt extraordinarily slowly.) Stir with cocktail spoon. Add in the two brandied cherries with a touch of the brandy/juice, to taste. The brandy/juice is sweet enough that it functionally replaces most, if not all need for vermouth.

Man oh man, I wish Elmer T. Lee was still easy enough to come across (and cheap enough) to use to make a Manhattan.

My recipe for Manhattans has changed a little over the years - particularly since I discovered Carpano Antica vermouth. It's definitely a more pricey variety of vermouth (a 750ml of Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth is usually no more than $10, compared to around $38 for a 750ml of Carpano Antica), but the nuanced taste of Carpano Antica is absolutely unbeatable as far as I'm concerned.

These days I'm about half and half on making Manhattans with rye our bourbon, and I also stopped using brandied cherries for Manhattans since I started using the Carpano Antica sweet vermouth...it made the drink too sweet if I used both. Just a single maraschino cherry these days.

Manhattan
2 oz. Minor Case Rye or Woodford Reserve Bourbon
1 oz. Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
3 drops angostura bitters
1 maraschino cherry

On 7/11/2018 at 7:07 PM, Colonels_Wear_Blue said:

My approach to having a cocktail is kind of a "spice of life" type approach. On the occasions that I am in the mood for a cocktail, I'll usually only have one in a single sitting simply because, with a few exceptions, having more than one cocktail will hang me over in no-time flat.

Gin and Tonic (extra wedge of lime, and a splash of St. Germain if it's available)

Vodka Tonic (extra wedge of lime)

Moscow Mule

Negroni

Bronx

The Last Word

Another cocktail I've recently become pretty fond of is the Kentucky Flyer. If you want to make one well, you definitely need to use your cocktail shaker, though...it needs to be chilled, but it also just isn't as good if you try to just mix it in the glass and on the rocks.

Kentucky Flyer
2 oz. Rye
3/4 oz. Luxardo Liqueur
1/2 oz. Lemon Juice
2 cherries

Add the rye, Luxardo, and lemon juice to your cocktail shaker along with 4-6 large ice cubes and shake thoroughly. Strain into a glass, and garnish the drink with 2 cherries.