It was First Friday in Raleigh, the first Friday of the month when art galleries, Artspace and museums stay open late and invite the nightlife in to tour and see special exhibits. Carmen and I had just exited Artspace and were famished. MOFU Shoppe was just around the corner and neither of us had ever been there, so we gave it a shot. It is a great location with an open front, perfect for a nice evening like that was. The bar was nicely appointed with a decent selection of bourbons and ryes, so I figured I'd ask them my favorite question. So after a really nice meal (the mussels were outstanding!) we retired to the bar for one last drink. Kevin served us. I had a nice view of his choice of ingredients and preparation. He chose Rittenhouse rye (a very popular choice, I'm finding) and Antica Torino vermouth. He used house-made bitters, so I had no idea what it was as a base. While he assembled the cocktail in the beaker, I was a little perturbed to find that he was constantly interrupted to do something else, whether it was to pour a beer, a glass of wine, or to work on Carmen's drink. That is leaving the liquid in the ice too long, I think, and I was beginning to worry that it would be watered down. The result though was fantastic. Even though the ingredients were common, their balance was perfect, yielding a rich, spicy Manhattan with a bitter start and lingering cherry and caramel finish. Kevin knew what he was doing and was obviously proud of his work. When I'm in downtown again, this would be a perfect place just to pop in for a quick drink before continuing on.