I first had a Balcones Manhattan at the Saltgrass Steakhouse while on vacation, and went wild over it. It was just an excellent Manhattan, so I had to find the ingredients, which were surprisingly difficult in my area, so I could reproduce this lovely sipper.
The original recipe on the menu is:
I found a bottle of Balcones Lineage Single Malt Whiskey first, but I’m not sure if it is the actual bottle they use, or if it is one of the other bottles that Balcones makes. I had to special order the Benedictine DOM, but I’m not sure if that’s because I’m in the sticks or its really that hard to find?
The main reason I say that is I’ve got it close, but not quite exact. But maybe things just taste better when your on vacation?
I’ve played with the mix, and the closest I can get is good, but not quite as good as what I had at the restaurant.
My recipe is 2 parts Balcones Lineage Single Malt Whiskey, 1 part Sweet Vermouth, and then, I had to buy a graduated jigger so I could play with how much Benedictine Dom to add in. My final result is 15ml of Dom.
This resulted in a wonderful Manhattan that scored a 92/100, which puts it at the absolute tops of Manhattan as of today (October 29th, 2021).
If you like a good Manhattan, you have to find the bottles and make this happen.
| Bottle | Score | Price | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan - Basil Hayden's & Dom Benedictine | 95 | $55 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Balcones | 91 | $55 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Blade And Bow | 90 | $55 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Basil Hayden's | 88 | $35 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Old Fashioned On The Rocks Knob Creek | 83 | $13 / 750ml | Old Fashioned |
| Manhattan - Fistful of Bourbon | 80 | $40 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Four Roses Small Batch | 76 | $30 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Legent | 75 | $35 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan-Death's Door | 74 | $40 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Wild Turkey | 73 | $35 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Dogfish Head Alternate Takes | 69 | $55/ 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Bulleit Bourbon | 69 | $28 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Knob Creek Small Batch | 69 | $30 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Elija Craig Small Batch | 66 | $27 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - Redemption Bourbon | 53 | $30 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan Stillhouse | 50 | $25 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan Agitator | 49 | $30 / 750ml | Manhattan |
| Manhattan - American XXX Born | 35 | $26 / 750ml | Manhattan |
