Friday, January 6, 2012

model t

1 3/4 oz Jim Beam Black Bourbon
3/4 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass spritzed twice with a clove-infused rum. Garnish with a clove-infused cherry and an addition spritz of clove-infused rum.

Last Friday afternoon, I got home early so I decided to visit Backbar shortly after it opened up. The drink that called out to me was their signature Manhattan variation, the Model T. The name pays tribute to the bar's location that was built in 1921 as the area's first Ford dealership, and the staff will proudly point to the filled in oil trough in the floor as one of the vestiges of the former inhabitants.
The clove essence contributed greatly to the drink's aroma as well as in the taste. In the sip besides the clove were malt and grape notes, and the swallow contained whiskey and herbal notes as well as a continuance of the clove. This spice note took the Model T in a very different direction from the Green Point despite having a rather comparable recipe.

2 comments:

orghast said...

super intrigued, as a Detroiter, to test out this homage to Ford... been following your blog for a long while now... astounded by its longevity and consistency... you've created an amazing archive... would love to see, one of these days, a ranked top 10 or something like that, where you call out some of your faves... it's so rare to see you make evaluative judgments on here, and yet your base for comparison is remarkably broad.... anyhu, here's to many more posts! keep at it...

frederic said...

I did top drinks in and out for 2010 and 2011 so that makes 4 posts to look at (which you at least found this year's from your other comment). There are evaluative judgments made since not every drink I have out or make at home makes it on the blog to begin with -- it has to have a decent balance, make sense with all the ingredients, and be worth recommending to others.