So with round #1 already in the bag we turned our attention to round #2 with the goal of trying to complete the two groupings last week — well, the best laid plans of mice and men … an unforeseen SNAFU arose at one place, can you believe they actually had the temerity to have a private event scheduled on the day theSpeakista was conducting the Challenge? So we fell into this week as well.
The first group up was the titan match between Death & Co. and the Clover Club and what a match it was — call it luck of the draw but at both places we were fortunate to have the two 2010 Star Chefs Rising Stars winners as our mixologist’s for the evening. This pairing provided, by far, the best series of drinks that we have had to date and served to highlight, in many ways, what has been a central point of our little project — consistency. I am fairly confident in saying that any one of the places we have highlighted in this challenge can produce a decent Manhattan. Sure some have faltered or have not been up to snuff based on certain previously highlighted issues (i.e. what time of the night it is; rush hour; what day of the week it is; how crowded is it; etc) but by and large we’ve seen decent drinks by most and some outstanding drinks by others. Yet one of the hallmarks of the “craft style” bars is their consistency; no matter what time of the night you enter or who is behind the stick, you are going to get a well made drink, period.
Our next pairing of this round saw a quality restaurant in need of a little redemption from its rather poor, albeit winning, performance in round #1. Could redemption be found going up against an upstart bar serving high end, and even higher quality drinks?
Round: #2
Grouping: Death & Co. and the Clover Club
Winner: Death & Co.
Death & Co.
Recap: Time and place … a theme that has resonated with us during our little trip down Manhattan lane. We entered this dimly lit bastion of drink related goodness last week/last 
Monday night at a tad after 6:30 and found it to be relatively un-inhabited; the bar was full for all but two spots but most of the tables were open. As we were waiting for our two guest judges to arrive the Godfather and I took a seat at the bar and scanned the menus that were presented to us. Manning the bar this evening was Thomas Waugh and Jason Littrell (a 2010 Star Chefs Rising Star) and opting to order early we asked Jason for two Manhattans. Jason inquired if we had any particular preferences and indicating that we were in his very capable hands, he set off to create two of their “house Manhattans.” What was presented to us, in a small coupe and dividend beaker, was a standard composition of Rittenhouse bonded rye, Carpano Antica vermouth and several dashes of bitters but what emerged in the glass was something utterly non-standard yielding that an amazing taste profile. Shortly after starting our samples, our guest judges arrived and we moved to a table whereby we proceeded to order them two additional Manhattans. Drinks firmly in hand our little group proceeded to sample both batches, comment and soak up all that is good about imbibing at a place such as this. Summoning all available will power, we cut ourselves off at only the one drink, gathered up our coats and headed off to the next venue.
theSpeakista’s Score and Review: 9 points (out of 10 possible) – A wonderfully balanced and complex drink with just the right mix of spice, sweet and bitter. On first sipping the drink you get great spice and sweetness that then yields to a nice “dried fruits” like taste. Remarkable almost unique taste on the after palate that was a little hard to place/quantify – a long, low, lingering smooth bitterness caped it off perfectly.
The Godfather’s Score and Review: 9 points (out of 10 possible) – Classic. Great taste and composition with no one ingredient dominating this smooth mixture. Unique (but very good) after taste.
SG’s (Guest Judge’s) Review and Score: 9 points (out of 10 possible) – Beautiful presentation. Easy to drink; very smooth texture making it both appealing on the palate and the eye.
DP’s (Guest Judge’s) Review and Score: 8.5 points (out of 10 possible) – Very smooth; almost delicate. Great presentation. Mysterious but delicious after-taste.
Total Score: 35.5 points (out of 40 possible, total points)
The Clover Club
Recap: our time at Death & Co. complete our little group proceeded over to Brooklyn where we found the Clover Club to be, much like Death & Co. earlier, a bit un-inhabited. The main bar
area was wide open so we took four seats at the bar and again scanned the menus. Manning the bar that night was the supremely friendly and uber great mixologist Brad Farran (also a 2010 Star Chefs Rising Star); recognizing us I guess from a past visit Brad shook our hands and asked us what we might like to drink and in unison we ordered our Manhattan’s and watch his preparation. Meticulous in every way, Brad measured out Michter’s Rye, Carpano Antica and several dashes of what looked to be Angostura bitters into two different mixing glasses. Adding several cracked and non-cracked Kold-Draft cubes to each glass, the mixtures were stirred, strained into waiting coupes and dividend beakers and presented for consumption. Brad was quite attentive to our group inquiring several times as to our enjoyment of said drinks … great service as always.
Side Note: the Godfather and I were primed to order a second round and so we did — while not judged for the project (although given how they turned out I wish they could have been), these two follow up drinks were fantastic. The Godfather’s “go to” drink these days is a rum Old Fashioned and Brad fashioned (no pun intended) him a perfectly balanced beauty comprised of Zacapa 23, Smith & Cross, cane syrup (I think) and two different kinds of bitters. Garnished with a wide swath of orange peel this drink would turn anti-rum drinkers into converts inside of a split second. Brad mentioned to me that he had a fantastic drink ready for my second go and hearing this I said “fire away” … and that he did, presenting me with a drink he dubbed the Shibuya. The Shibuya was down right ethereal — comprised of Yamazaki 12 year old whiskey, Cardamaro and Strega, this drink took me exactly where I wanted to go. It was balanced, brimming with flavor and a wonderful show case for malt whiskey. Great, great job Brad!!
theSpeakista’s Score and Review: 8.75 (average) points (out of 10 possible) – Slightly sweet at the start with a nice spicy draw later on and a twinge of bitterness on the after palate. The drink is nicely balanced. A very well made Manhattan.
The Godfather’s Score and Review: 9.1 (average) points (out of 10 possible) – A great Manhattan and what I would consider to be ideal. Ingredients work well and there is nice balance to the drink.
SG’s (Guest Judge’s) Review and Score: 7.5 points (out of 10 possible) – Bartender did a fantastic job creating the drink with precise measurements/extensive preparation. Nice. Stronger alcohol taste.
DP’s (Guest Judge’s) Review and Score: 7 points (out of 10 possible) – Initial smell is sweeter than the prior version sampled. Stronger alcohol content with a somewhat bitter after taste.
Total Score: 32.35 points (out of 40 possible, total points)
Round: #2
Grouping: The Strip House and Summit Bar
Winner: Summit Bar
Strip House
Recap: Two days after experiencing a run away hit by way of the Death & Co./Clover Club match up we ventured out to complete, or so we thought, round #2. First up and with a bit of trepidation on our part was the Strip House. The Godfather and I both adore this bastion of carnivore meat eating pleasure and yet our experience in round #1 was less then thrilling. A scheduling conflict with our guest judge (and back up judge) arose so again the GF and I were a duo versus a trio. We both entered around 6 pm and found two seats at the bar and noticed that our bartender for this evening was again Bill, the same bartender from our prior excursion. We ordered our drinks (leaving it in Bill’s hands) and noticed that this time Bill selected the standard go-to bourbon Maker’s Mark versus Knob Creek as was selected previously. He free poured the spirit into a mixing glass and reached down to the well to pull out a bottle of Cinzano sweet vermouth and again free poured this into the glass along with several dashes of Angostura bitters. Adding standard bar ice (really …???) to the glass Bill stirred the mix for about 15 seconds and then single strained the mix into two waiting cocktail glasses that had already been garnished with maraschino cherries. Bill pushed each drink towards us and we consumed with eager anticipation.
theSpeakista’s Score and Review: 8 points (out of 10 possible) – What a difference/change from round #1. This free poured drink was right on point and well executed. Rounded taste profile to slightly sweet (I think owing to the vermouth used). Lacks a little something extra but all-in-all a nice drink.
The Godfather’s Score and Review: 8.5 points (out of 10 possible) – “If I looked up a Manhattan Cocktail in the dictionary, this drink would be next to it.” Classic ingredients with a classic Manhattan taste. This is why I fell in love with this drink!
Total Score: 16.5 points (out of 20 possible, total points)
Summit Bar
Recap: Having settled our tab at the Strip House we jumped in a cab and headed over to the Summit Bar only to find that they were closed for a private event — seriously, the gall!
Note: we went to our back up spot several blocks away and consumed a few rounds of incredible drinks.
This week we headed back to Summit Bar to complete our round #2 pairings and found it happily open and free of private events. We took a seat at the utterly desolate bar and found 
our bartender eager to serve us. We asked for two bartenders choices of Manhattans (this time the barrel-aged drink that is on the menu was unavailable) and after several looks by our bartender at the spirits counter and the well proceeded to compose a drink of Old Overholt rye whiskey, Dolin Rouge and bitters (one dash of orange and two dashes of Angostura bitters). Mixing the drink with large cubed ice the drink was single strained out into two pre-chilled glasses that were each garnished with what looked to be (and tasted like), Luxardo cherries. The drinks were presented to us and we sampled with much happiness. Our bartender (name escaped my notes) was quite attentive, we talked about craft style ryes, bourbons and vermouths with several being presented to us for tasting. Well done!
Note: while not judged for this round, I also ordered a Rob Roy and was equally pleased by this drink as I had been with the Manhattan.
theSpeakista’s Score and Review: 8.5 points (out of 10 possible) – Balanced to slightly sweet. A very nice pairing of the rye, the vermouth and bitters … it all works nicely in the glass. Faint notes of spice give way to great hints of the botanicals and slight lingering bitterness on the after palate. Well executed.
The Godfather’s Score and Review: 8.5 points (out of 10 possible) – Unique flavor profile but nice. Very smooth with perfect balance in the ingredients.
Total Score: 17.0 points (out of 20 possible, total points)
More Lessons Learned
Quality vs. expectations: an issue constantly arises between a drink being unsatisfactory because it is poorly made and thus, tastes bad or it is properly made but is not what the drinker expected (and as such, doesn’t taste good to the taster at that time). So far in this Challenge we have faced both – in several cases poor execution resulted in bad drinks whereas in another, differing expectations created a poor experience.
I would much prefer to sample a drink that is well made but isn’t to my taste because at least I’ve tried something new, learned a lesson and can do something different in the future. With a poorly made drink, you end up feeling pissed off/taken advantage of, because you wasted your money at a place that should have known better. Taste and expectations are subjective and can often cloud an experience. You should never feel compelled to give up an expectation to have a drink that is made properly especially when you are spending your hard earned money.
Time Matters: Again and again we have encountered this issue – what time of the day and what day of the week you go to a place can have a big impact on your experience. This has been more true for the restaurant and hotel bars than it has been for the craft or lounge style bars.
Rule Changes for the Finals:
- at least two different “styles” of Manhattans will be sampled and evaluated with the two drinks both being a bartenders choice
- the average of the judges scores for each drink will be used
Another great time was had exploring this great drink in our great city. Round #2 provided the best overall series of drinks. We saw one competitor pick up its game, one remain even keel and two show stoppers which highlighted the best of what can be had in this city.
The finals are just around the corner so stay tuned … place your bets on who you think is going to be the winner.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Can we call it David vs. Goliath? maybe Tyson vs. Douglas? USA vs. Russia circa 1980.
I dont know what you call it but it is defintiely a battle! And as they say in the NFL “Any Given Sunday” although it will likely be a Tuesday. Great writing as always and I am counting the days!