:: mixology monday: i'll take manhattan wrap up::

I am rather pleased with the level of participation for this Mixology Monday, MxMo XCVII entitled "I'll Take Manhattan." Participants reached for different base spirits, different fortified wines, and/or interesting accessory flavors, and as I begin this post, there were 22 entries from 21 participants, and I am sure that I will have a few more by the time I am done with it (indeed, now up to 24 from 23 as I am about to hit "publish" with I am sure another entry or two that ignored my Mapquest directions but are asking that guy on the corner). Yes, I was a spaz and thought of something to create an hour or so after posting my new school recipe, and I decided to make it later that night as for why there are an unequal number of entries and participants. And as Joel from SouthernAsh pointed out, we are getting rather close to MxMo C (100)! Doubtful that I can get my wife's idea to come true -- to have Paul Clarke host it. He will most likely be busy with his book launch and Tales of the Cocktail recovery then. But without further ado, let's get to these Manhattan variations in temporal order of contacting me!
• Right out of the gate were a pair of eGullet forum participants starting with Chris Taylor from Australia! His Place of Weeping swapped the standard whiskey for brandy, and he utilized a South African brand that I recognize from producing Van der Hum.
• The other eGullet contibutor was Craig E who used a date-infused Bourbon to add a great richness to the classic!
• Fellow Massachusetts cocktail blogger Todd Yard was next up with his entry in the Concocktails blog with the Saint-Tropez inspired by the gin-Dubonnet classic, the Zaza.
• Marius of ArcanePotions takes the standard Manhattan and gussied it up with some oleo saccharum for the Orange in the Rye cocktail.
• A Mexican-themed Manhattan? Katie from GarnishBlog offered up the first of these, the Cuauhtémoc.
• Gary, the good doctor of Doc Elliot's Mixology, took the Manhattan in two directions. The first was one that spiked in sherry and orange flavors, and the second added in some orange notes and barrel time!
• For a second Mexican-themed Manhattan, Chris Tunstall of ABarAbove did not opt for agave but aged rum and mole bitters for the Teotihuacan!
• Andrea of GinHound wandered with the amari for vermouth idea with the Gowanus.
• SpiritedRemix's DJHawaiianShirt did go the agave route but took a more seasonal idea in the Violet Hour-themed Summerdusk.
• The drink that I, Frederic of CocktailVirgin, had my eye on a drink from Sam Ross coincidentally had me in that neighborhood of NYC later that week. Namely, the Cobble Hill that someone else was also inspired to write about for this MxMo!
• Christa and Shaun of the BoozeNerds do double time with a single post: a dark amaro and nutty Ten Paces at Dawn and an amaro and herbal liqueur Park View.
• I wasn't planning on doing two drinks, but it came up how the Manhattan and the Sazerac were on the short list of drinks that I could pick as "my drink" to never veer from. But why can't I have both?
• Dagreb posted his preferred house Manhattan with an olive garnish over at NihilUtopia. Perhaps he will put in a footnote as to why he called it such...
• A White Manhattan? Kafka at KitchShamanism worked his magic with some white dog whiskey into his Crystalline Manhattan.
• Any time that I can push JFL of RatedRCocktails out of his comfort zone, I feel that my job is done for the day (or perhaps this time for the mixology month). Move aside Tiki, it's Manhattan -- My Chinatown Moll!
• Brenda Sharpe of DeliciousCocktailTime paid tribute to her home of Canada with a bit of Pimm's and a touch of black currant in the Victoriana.
• For Stuart Putney of PutneyFarms, it is the Perfect Manhattan that does it for him. Perfectly Perfect.
• Returning back to Canada, Whitney of TipicularFixins was inspired by all of her city's cherry blossoms from Japan to make a Japanese whisky Brooklyn-like number, the Sakura.
• Chris of Mindtron or is it BuriedPleasure split things up by crossing a Black Manhattan with a Rum Manhattan for the Hamilton. And no, not the rum (Ed) Hamilton, but the President one. And he also doubled things up with the tequila-based Solar Flare!
• What better reason to start a blog than MxMo? ThreeLeggedCocktails launched things off with the City West by making his own wormwood wines (essentially vermouths or proto-vermouths)!
• Great minds think alike, and Hilary at SpiritedAwayCocktails also picked the Cobble Hill. While my path was searching for NYC burrough-named drinks, hers was for Manhattan variations using Amaro Montenegro.
• Light rum and Lillet factor heavily into Joel DiPippa's Privateer Cocktail on SouthernAsh. He even got philosophical about the elemental nature of the recipe...
• The first of the late bunch (but still under my posting the roundup) was Matt (and Catherio) of DrinkSomethingCompletelyDifferent. He mixed things up with a spiced syrup to round out the Alphabet City Cocktail.
• The next of the post-deadline ones sent in a twitter warning that recipe snafus were sending her into overtime. The Muse of Doom of Feu de Vie did not let me down with her Secret Agent Manhattan though.

So there are the 24 entries that made the deadline for the first pressing of this wrapup. The post will be amended for late entries of course, but the first wave of readers will alas miss the magic. Thank you all for paying tribute to one of my favorite cocktails and first adult-styled mixed drinks that I enjoyed, the Manhattan!