The Manhattan and the Perfect Bitters- Presentation

© 2013 I’ll Take Manhattans by Dale DeGroff All Rights Reserved

TheEnd of an Era

Half NoteJazz Club

This Deli was once the home of the

Half Note Jazz Club at Hudson and Spring

“Little Jazz” Roy Eldridge

New York 1969

Joe & Julia

-La Fonda de Sol-The Four Seasons-Rainbow Room-Windows on the World and many others

• A menu that celebrated the cocktails of legendary supper clubs

© 2013 I’ll Take Manhattans by Dale DeGroff All Rights Reserved

Angostura Bitters 1824 Available world-wide by the late 19th century popular in culinary and beverage applications

From French Wine and Liquor Manufacturer 1868, Dick & Fitzgerald

Gentian Root (Bitter Root)Allspice, Mace, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Clove (eugenol), Caraway and Coriander Seeds, Galangal (ginger family -floral and intense) Cardamom Seeds, WormwoodChinchona Calisaya Bark (contains quinine)Red Saunders Wood, Curcuma (Ginger, Tumeric)Catechu (astringent Acacia Catechu) Angostura BarkCanada & Virginia Snake Root (banned)Liquorice Root, Dandelion Root ,Yellow Bark Grind and steeped in spirit, sweetened with honey, filtered through canvas, sand, charcoal cotton flannel bag, cotton wadding, and cotton cloth.

(Patented Feb. 4 1902)The second bottle still has a wrap around label: Rheinstrom & Bros. Cincinnati, Ohio, embossed with the words: Eagle Liqueur Distilleries Angostura Bark Bitters

Angostura Bark Bitters

Bitters Before ProhibitionA wide variety of commercial bitters

Safe & Scientific…Responsible and truthful advertising!

Bitters you may have

found in your dad’s liquor

cabinet

Bitters Today

The addition of a dash of

Aromatic Bitters is what Defined the Cocktail

Strong spirits with Sugar, Water, and Bitters

1806

Stoughton’s Bitters

Jerry Thomas / Pierre Lacour Recipe:• 8 lbs. Gentian root• 1/2 oz. Red Saunders wood (or cochineal)• 6 lbs. Orange Peel• 1.5 lbs. Virginia Snake Root, Tremetol (poisonous)• Calamus Root (sweetflag) dried ground roots

substitute for cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger• Guinea Pepper (grains of paradise)• 1/2 oz. American Saffron

First medicinal bitters brand and the second patented medicine in England, 1690, Patented 1712)

Ground into medium powder; add to 10 gallons of proof spirit / whiskey (100 vol. alcohol to 10 vol. of water) Macerate for two weeks stirring every 24 hours

Gentian

Illuminated version of the 1st Century De Materia Medica by Pendanius Dioscorides upon which western pharmacology was based.

While translating the Materia Medica, Ancient Arabs cataloged many important herbs and decorated the manuscripts with extraordinary art.

Nilotica (acacia)

Cochineal76 shades of red

Look for: E120, Red 40, or Carmine that is cochineal,

a popular coloring because it is natural

THE AGE OF DISCOVERY

The Search for the Spice Islands opens the Western Hemisphere in all it’s Riches

Stoughton’s Bitters

Jerry Thomas / Pierre Lacour Recipe:• 8 lbs. Gentian root• 1/2 oz. Red Saunders wood (or cochineal)• 6 lbs. Orange Peel• 1.5 lbs. Virginia Snake Root, Tremetol (poisonous)• Calamus Root (sweetflag) dried ground roots

substitute for cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger• Guinea Pepper (grains of paradise)• 1/2 oz. American Saffron

Ground into medium powder; add to 10 gallons of proof spirit / whiskey (100 vol. alcohol to 10 vol. of water) Macerate for two weeks stirring every 24 hours

First medicinal bitters brand and the second patented medicine in England (1690, Patented 1712)

CinnamonCloveNutmeg

Allspice (Pimento)

Nature’s Spice BoxGinger Nutmeg Cinnamon Clove

Chinchona The Miracle

Bark

Chinchona Calisaya

The Harvest

Orris A Natural Fixative

Wormwood

Pioneers of the Cocktail and the first authors in the field

Many brands of bitters were included in the recipes

JERRY THOMAS FAVORED

Bokers Bitters1828 L. J. Funke Co., N.Y. Created by Johann Gottlieb Boker

Re-created in 2009 by Dr. Adam Elmegirab

• 1868 Pierre Lacour Recipe• Whiskey, one gallon • water, six gallons • rasped cassia (Cinnamon), three ounces • powdered catechu (acacia) three ounces • calamus,(sweetflag) dried ground roots substitute

for nutmeg, ginger three ounces each • cardamom two ounces • Macerate in whiskey for one week. Strain.• Forty ounces of tincture of cochineal,

and five ounces burnt sugar for color.

Bitters Listed in 1888 Edition Harry Johnson’s Handbook for Bartenders

• Angostura• Hostetters Bitters• Orange Bitters (not branded)

• Boonecamp Bitters • Stoughton Bitters• Sherry Wine Bitters

Brazilian Made

I’ll Take Manhattans

You can keep the Bronx and Staten Island Too

But…Could the Manhattan have been invented in Chicago?Impossible!

O. H. Byron’s ManhattansTwo variations from the 1884 O.H. Byron book

MANHATTAN #1• (a small wineglass)• 1 pony French vermouth• 1/2 pony whiskey • 3 or 4 dashes Angostura• 3 dashes of gum syrup MANHATTAN #2• 2 dashes Curaçao• 2 dashes Angostura bitters• 1/2 wineglass whiskey• 1/2 wineglass Italian vermouth• Fine ice; stir well. And strain into

a cocktail glass.

A Page from the

Book

JERRY THOMAS’BARTENDER’S GUIDE

1887 Edition

How to Mix drinksby George Winter 1884

Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters

• Macerated for over thirty days. • Begin with 96% ABV neutral spirit,

the purest available. • Spent botanicals are distilled in a

small amount of alcohol with recovered spirit returned to the next maceration.

• All botanicals go in together.

Special Thanks to

Knob Creek Super Premium Rye

• Brings the rich and savory notes of rye to life in the complex way that only Knob Creek can

• Distinct, full-bodied character with spicy notes, smooth taste and luxurious finish

• Handcrafted in small batches, 100 Proof• Rye spiciness, vanilla undertones• Provides the taste of pre-prohibition whiskey

by delivering the rich and savory notes of rye in the same bold tradition Knob Creek is known for

• Highest Rated Rye; 2013, Ultimate Spirits Challenge