Monte Carlo

Story:

The Monte Carlo is a ridiculously simple drink with just three ingredients, all of which you’ve had before.  But put them together in this way and it’s something special.  David Embury was the first to write down the recipe in 1948’s The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, but nobody’s sure who actually invented it.  The Monte Carlo is most often classified as a Manhattan variation with the vermouth swapped out for Benedictine, but there are a number of other closely related drinks that are simple and rye-based.  I think of it as a simplified Vieux Carre that I can make when I don’t feel like messing with that many ingredients.  You’ll want a spicy rye to balance the Benedictine – I used Rittenhouse 100.

Recipe:

2 oz rye whiskey (Rittenhouse 100)

0.5 oz Benedictine

2 dashes Angostura bitters

          garnish: lemon twist

-add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice; stir until chilled
-strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice

-express lemon twist over the drink, then garnish the drink with it.