Carmen and I visited NY for a few days of vacation, to see a couple of shows and have some really good food. She made us reservations at Butter, Alex Guarnaschelli's restaurant, before we were to catch Dear Evan Hansen at the nearby Music Box Theater. I must say that the restaurant lived up to its reputation. The charcuterie board was outstanding, but my smoked bone-in pork chop was simply to die for! But, of course, the food is not the subject of this post.
We didn't sit at the bar, so I was not inclined to asked our server for their best Manhattan. I prefer to look
the bartender in the eye when I do that. So instead I perused their cocktail menu and found an interesting selection named VIVA Manhattan. Unlike other Manhattans, this one is based on aged tequila, Viva Extra Anejo to be exact, along with their default sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters.
I'm not a big tequila drinker, but the effect was startling! Like many American men, I've had run-ins with bad tequila at an early age, and since have had the fortune to experience really nice tequila to dispel the bias that all tequila is evil. Viva Extra is obviously a very, very nice tequila. It's smoky smooth flavor went very well with the sweet vermouth, even though the smoothness may have made it a bit rich for some palettes.
I've enjoyed experimenting with non-traditional Manhattans. I've had quite a few that attempt using other liquors besides vermouth, but have had only two that don't use a bourbon or rye, this being the second. The first was a gin-based Manhattan I wrote about here.