This week’s cocktail, similar to last week’s cocktail, is a rye and vermouth cocktail. The Basic cocktail to compare to is the Manhattan, which is only rye, vermouth and bitters. Having recently made a writeup on the Manhattan, this cocktail still a classic, but not as old as the Manhattan, offers some different nuances. The main differences are that the cocktail includes cherry liqueur and swaps bitters for absinthe. In a way it is similar to the cocktail De La Louisiane from last week, where the bitters are excluded, and the Benedictine is swapped for cherry liqueur. In my opinion, these are not cocktials for beginners, and frankly the most well-known of these, the Manhattan, is the most boring. All strong with rye playing a big role in the flavour profile, it is preferable to like rye. If I were to recommend someone new to cocktails any of these Manhattan derivatives, the one I would choose is this cocktail. The sweetness and fruitiness of the cherry liqueur, while not dominant rounds off the cocktail rather nicely and makes the cocktail in my opinion more approachable. The absinthe brings some anise flavour in the finish, making the cocktail even more interesting.
The story behind the cocktail is that it was first recorded to have existed in 1933. To me, it is obvious that it is a derivative of the Manhattan or the rye and vermouth-based cocktails of New Orleans. The name refers to the US navy ship USS Maine, which was sunk during the Cuban war of independence. I will not go into detail about the sinking of the Maine, however, for this cocktail the USS Maine was important because, the ship is mentioned in a war cry used in favour of the US involvement in the Spanish-American war, succeeding months of peace after the Cuban independence war. “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain” is the battle cry that has given name to this cocktail. Whatever your thoughts are of the war, this cocktail like quite a few others relates to history. For me, one of the great things about classic cocktails is that while learning of the history of the cocktail, you sometimes stumble upon an event in history and learn something new. I do think it is quite common for those with my interests, such as mechanical machines, like aeroplanes, cars and watches, to have an interest in history. For me, I think cocktails is a nice way to explore history, like I said in the post about the Hemingway Daiquiri there is something magical about drinking cocktails where Hemmingway has had his cocktails. I also get the feeling of relevance when I drink a cocktail that I can directly attribute to a time in history. So, in the end this is a cocktail that I personally feel like it is worth exploring for the single fact that it has a close connection to an event in history.
My Recipe:
2 oz (6 cl) Rye Whiskey
0.75 oz (2.25 cl) Sweet Vermouth
0.5 oz (1.5 cl) Cherry Liqueur
½ barspoon Absinthe
Add the ingredients to a mixing glass and stir with ice. Strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
