Tosspot Temptation

I don’t drink much; a tosspot I’m not (although I’m very partial to that word tosspot). But I like a cocktail before dinner when out and about. Recently I was successfully leveraged by a cocktail menu at a local speakeasy to try an “apple Manhattan.” I loved it and had two of them and dinner was great (whatever the hell it was). When I got home I hit Google for the recipe and this is from Dale DeGroff’s The Craft of the Cocktail: 2 ounces of Maker’s Mark bourbon; 1 ounce of Berentzen’s apple liqueur; a thin slice of a Granny Smith apple, for garnish. Stir the two ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the apple slice. Very simple, but Mr. DeGroff is very specific about his ingredients, that is, “Don’t try this without the Berentzen’s.” Mmm, baby, yum city.