Jack's Seasoned Manhattan

Momma-San, Titi Ari, the kids and myself went down to Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center to engage ourselves in some good old fashioned New York City Christmas flavor. I have to say that in years past, Momma-San and I would look for roving Santa Clauses so we could take our yearly holiday family picture. This has gotten harder to accomplish since it seems that Rockefeller Center does its best to shoo away those dressed up as Santa while allowing these aggressive picture hawkers to approach anyone and everyone for the opportunity to take a picture in front of the tree. It really sucks that this is the second year in a row where we were unable to get a picture with good old St. Nick. I guess next year we'll have to brave the mall for a picture with Santa. UGH!!!!

Anyways, this is a drinking blog so on to the cocktailing. As most people in the business already know, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar was lambasted recently in a New York Times food review. Since we were somewhat close to where the restaurant is, we decided that we wanted to check the place out to see if it was as bad as the review made it seem.

As we arrive, the place has a lively feel but doesn't seem too overly busy for 8pm on a Tuesday night in Times Square. We're seated in a very spacious circular corner booth and are given a cocktail menu to start. The menu was broken down in two with one section being Guy's Classics which consisted of such cocktails as three Margaritas, two Mojitos and one Pina Colada and one rum punch. The other section was Holiday cocktails and since we were in the holiday flow, I decided to give one of these a shot. The holiday menu had a nice blend of nogs, sangrias and holiday martinis. One drink stood out to me and I decided to have it. The cocktail was named Jack's Seasoned Manhattan. Here is what the cocktail was msde with:

Jack Seasoned Manhattan
Jack Daniels Whiskey
Goldschlager
Ginger and Cocoa
Seasonal Spices

Though the name is somewhat of a misnomer since there aren't any kind of Sweet Vermouths that characteristically are found in a Manhattan it was surprisingly tasty. The jack mingles very nicely with the Ginger/and Cocoa flavors and and cinnamon of the Goldschlager. As usual Momma-San didn't like it but as she says, if she doesn't like it, I will. LOL. I would guess that the Seasonal Spices (which I didn't find out what spices they were) somewhat replace the function of let's say an Angostura Bitters would in a traditional Manhattan. Overall it was a delicious cocktail that did evoke feelings of autumn and winter.

Oh, by the way. I had no complaints about the food. The wings were plump and tasty, the sauce seemed fresh. The nachos were plentiful and crispy. The burger I had wasn't overly large but it was seasoned properly and the french fries were a hit with the kids who ate their, mine and Titi Ari's as well. The Chicken fingers they ordered which were breaded with pretzels and panko were also delicious as was Momma-San's bacon mac and cheese. So unless they made some major changes after the scathing review, it would seem that the reviewer had other reasons for the negative review.

For the next posts I'll profile the other cocktail that I had which was the Blackberry Brandy Alexander, as well as, a local bourbon called Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey. I also whipped up a batch of Egg Nog based on the recipe of bar manager of Clyde Common in Portland Oregon and bartender Jeffrey Morganthaler. Instead of using Spiced Rum, I decided to use the Honey Cinnamon Infused Vodka. I'll let you know how it tastes after a day or so of chilling in the fridge.

Until Then Happy Drinking,
Sisco Vanilla