The Monte Carlo is quite slick. Perfect, I say.
It has a rye basis, which makes it a warming sipper. That’s ideal for autumn, which is coming up quickly in our region of the planet.
On a cool night, this beverage will warm you. And you aspire to a perky appearance, right?
Recipe: The Monte Carlo Cocktail
The Manhattan Cocktail is dressed up in the form of this beverage. Bitters and whisky, especially rye, are used to make both drinks. However, the Manhattan also contains vermouth, while the Monte Carlo uses Benedictine liqueur as a substitute.
The Monte Carlo has a somewhat more complex flavour and is therefore a little bit sweeter than the Manhattan. It mimics the Vieux Carré Cocktail in certain ways.
The Monte Carlo is often served “up” in a cocktail glass. Although we prefer it that way, we believe it tastes even better over ice in a rocks (Old-Fashioned) glass.
This dish makes one serving and takes around 5 minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
Rye whisky, 2 ounces (see Notes)
12 ounce of Benedictine
Angostura bitters, 2 dashes (or Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters, 1 dash each)
(Optional) Lemon twist for garnish
Procedure
Put all the ingredients (apart from the garnish) in a mixing glass that has half ice in it. Stir quickly for 30 seconds or until thoroughly cold.
Pour strained liquid into an ice-filled rocks glass. Serve after adding garnish, if desired.
Notes
Do you want to serve this up? Simply strain into a chilled cocktail glass rather than a rocks glass in Step 2.
Why stir as opposed to shaking this beverage? because each component is readily visible. Stirring keeps the drink from becoming clouded by air bubbles. Shaking is preferred because you won’t detect air bubbles in drinks produced with opaque ingredients (like citrus juice).
However, we frequently shake this beverage. We are what we are, after all.
A twist-shaped small strip of lemon peel is the traditional garnish for this cocktail. However, we like to cut a wider swath of peel and add it to the beverage.
If you don’t have rye on hand, you might prepare this cocktail with bourbon. However, we do not recommend it. Bourbon is almost certainly too sweet for this drink.
Rittenhouse 100 proof rye is our favourite for creating cocktails. However, this is not always easy to come by.
One rye that is constantly available is Old Overholt, which has a little peppery flavour. We haven’t tried it in a Monte Carlo yet, but we believe it would work. If in doubt, seek advice from the knowledgeable staff at your local liquor store.
In addition, as is customary, we are nonprofit and are not charged for naming brands. We only recommend items that we would buy with our own money.
Bénédictine is a fragrant herbal liqueur with a light sweetness. You might think it’s made by monks based on the name. Alexandre Le Grand, a French wine merchant and manufacturer, invented it in 1863. Because Le Grand was a businessman, he falsely claimed that the drink was created by monks at a Benedictine abbey in Normandy. This aided sales (while also causing decades of uncertainty).
