Tag Archive for: Manhattan Bar

Date Night with Jack Daniel at Asia’s Number One Bar

Canon JD No. 7 with tasting glasses

Geek Flora and Choc were invited to a tasting session of Jack Daniels on 6 May 2018 at Manhattan Bar. It was an awesome evening because tasting a famous Tennessee at Asia’s Number One Bar can never go wrong. Besides, the assistant Head Distiller, Mr Chris Fletcher, was in town and we knew that he would answer all our geeky questions.

We reached Manhattan Bar around 7 pm, and the reception ushered us into a private room next to the main bar floor on the right. What we saw was absolute class and luxury as the tall glasses laid in their full glory with the gold nectar within them. The room smelled of whiskey (of course), and we got a little more excited.

Introducing Jack Daniel as a person

In case you do not know, Jack Daniel was indeed a real person. Nobody truly knows Jack’s birthdate, but official records from the distillery stated the 1850s. He was the youngest of 13 children and was very young when his mother died. His father remarried but unfortunately killed shortly after that in the Civil War. Jack did not get along with his stepmother, and hence, he ran away from home at a young age. Jack ended up in Lynchburg, Tennessee where a local lay preacher and moonshine distiller named Dan Call took him in.

Jack began his career as an apprentice distiller with Call and his Master Distiller, Nathan Green. In 1875, Jack received an inheritance from his father’s estate and founded Jack Daniel Distillery with Call. However, Jack took over the distillery shortly afterwards as Call decided to answer his true calling as a preacher.

Jack Daniel Distillery

Jack soon expanded the distillery in 1884 by purchasing the surrounding land. He was getting recognition from the public, and the whiskey gained popularity in the 1880s. The distillery began to bottle their liquid in square bottles in 1897 to convey a sense of fairness and integrity. In 1904, Jack Daniel won a gold medal at the St Louis World’s Fair, and the distillery experienced a surge in demand. However, things looked bad at home with Prohibition oncoming.

Jack gave the distillery to two of his nephews in 1907 due to failing health and died in 1911 due to blood poisoning. One of them became the next owner for 40 years while the other sold his share early. Prohibition laws passed in Tennessee in 1910 and the distillery halted its production in Lynchburg. Two other sites in St Louis, Missouri and Birmingham, Alabama started distilling but failed to produce quality liquid. In 1920, the United States of America passed nationwide prohibition laws, stopping further distillation from taking place.

Despite it all, Lemuel “Lem” Motlow held his uncle’s legacy through the Prohibition and was the front mover in repealing the Tennessee state-prohibition law in 1938. After that, things ran smoothly until 1942, where the U.S government banned production due to World War 2. After the war, Motlow resumed Jack Daniel in 1947. Sadly, he died in the same year and left the distillery to his children.

Jack Daniel distillery began its modern era in 1956 when Brown-Forman bought the distillery from the Motlow family.

The Making of a Tennessee Whiskey

Did you know the difference between a bourbon and a Tennessee? To confuse you a little, a Tennessee can be bourbon, but bourbon can never be a Tennessee. Why!?

The definition of bourbon defines it as a liquid made anywhere in the U.S with at least 51% corn and matured in a brand new charred oak cask. The alcohol content of the new make must also be 80% or lower. A Tennessee is a bourbon produced in Tennessee and treated with maple charcoal before maturing in a brand new charred oak cask. The process, called charcoal mellowing, makes all the difference between a Tennessee and a bourbon.

Charcoal mellowing helps to maintain the flavour consistency and soften the whiskey to make it less harsh. Hence, a Tennessee whiskey is always easier to drink than a typical bourbon.

The Making of a Jack Daniel Tennessee Whiskey

Jack Daniel distillery sources its water from an underground cave spring. The grain percentage is 80% corn, 12% malted barley and 8% rye. The distillery milled the corn and cooked it with hot water to turn it into grist before adding the rye. After that, they allow the mixture to cool before adding the malted barley to the mash. The fermentation team then pumps the mash into the fermentation tanks and add yeast. When fermentation completes, the alcohol abv is around 12%.

Distillation then begins in the 100% copper stills. The 40ft tall column still brings the vapours into a short still with copper plates heated by steam. The system separates the alcohol and then distil it a second time before cooling off into new make. The liquid then passes through 3m of charcoal made on-site for the charcoal mellowing process. The entire process takes about two to three days. After that, it becomes Tennessee whiskey at 70% abv.

Jack Daniel’s Barrels

As you know, all American whiskey needs maturation in brand-new charred American oak. Jack Daniel is no difference. Their Tennessee whiskey sleeps in brand-new charred American oak casks for at least four years and mostly less than eight years. There is no additional colouring. Maturation in Tennessee is different from Scotland – they need hot summers. Hot summers mean maturation is likely to conclude in five to six years while cooler summers will result in a slightly longer maturation.

Jack Daniel resells all their barrels after using as they are not allowed to use it for the second time. About 25% of all ex-bourbon barrels in the world are Jack Daniel’s!

Jack Daniel’s Cooperage

Jack Daniel also owns two cooperages and have a patent barrel-making process. They buy oak trees, cut them up and build their barrels from scratch. The newly-made barrels are toasted for 17 minutes at 260 degrees Celsius to get the creamy vanilla and caramel into the wood before getting charred for 25 seconds. The cooperages make about 2,000 barrels every day.

The Tasting of Jack Daniel’s Range

The beautiful glasses for Geek Flora

After reading so much about Jack Daniel, it is time for us to take you on the tasting journey for the night. We had a total of six expressions. They are Gentleman Jack, JD Single Barrel, JD No. 7, JD Gold No. 27, JD American Straight Rye, and JD Sinatra Select. Chris Fletcher, the assistant Head Distiller (pictured below) waxed lyrical about the distillery and its whiskey-making methods, which delighted us (and resulted in the long explanation above)!

Mr Chris Fletcher, Assistant Head Distiller at JD

It is now time to delve into the various JD and see how they are.

Gentleman Jack

As the name suggests, this whiskey is a complete gentleman. Soft-spoken and gentle, the nose is full of melons, pears and bananas with just a hint of oak. The palate is creamy, fruity and soft. Elegant indeed. The finish is too short, but Chris mentioned that the distillery makes it this way as it is an entry whiskey for those who just started learning about whiskey.

JD Single Barrel

A little note about the single barrel: the distillery chooses their single barrels only from the top floor of specific warehouses within the distillery. As they build their warehouses on sites of different heights, the top floor of each warehouse differs from the other. As Jack Daniel depends on the weather for maturation, location of each warehouse plays a big part. The highest floor of each warehouse naturally gets the most heat and hence, considered as one of the best.

The JD Single Barrel is a colossal sugar babe. The nose boasts of molasses, vanilla, melons and Juicy Banana chewing gums. The palate is sweet with molasses, vanilla, melons and spice. It is oily and less creamy than Gentleman Jack. Hints of Juicy Banana chewing gums reappears behind the spice. The finish is medium with oak and ripe banana sweetness. Hints of sweet sandalwood appear with the second sip.

JD No. 7

JD No. 7 is well-known in this part of the world, and almost everyone had a JD No. 7 before. The nose is full of molasses, melon and light vanilla. The palate is creamy with vanilla and spice. We get hints of banana sweetness at the end. The finish is too short, with faint banana sweetness and a bit of oak.

JD Gold No. 27

The JD Gold No. 27 is an unusual expression. It matures four years in oak before transferring to a maple barrel for six months to a year. The nose boasts of bananas, vanilla and maple syrup. The palate is exceptionally creamy, with molasses, banana, maple and spice at the back of the palate. The finish is medium, creamy and slightly spicy.

JD American Straight Rye

The JD rye is a new expression launched in September 2017 that consists of 70% rye, 18% corn and 12% malted barley. The nose is full of banana cream, light spice and sweet sandalwood. The palate brings the sandalwood to the front, with banana cream, earthen spice and light mint at the back of the palate. The finish is short and spicy.

JD Sinatra Select

JD Sinatra Select

Finally, the JD Sinatra Select is an expression made to commemorate Sinatra’s 100 Years. He loved Jack Daniels and would promote the brand blatantly even though they never paid him a single cent for advertising. Therefore, this expression celebrates the man who loved his JD.

The nose is oaky, oily with vanilla in the background. The banana scent that is so distinctive JD is weaker too. The palate reveals dry oak, vanilla, bananas and hints of sandalwood. There is some spice also. The finish is medium, with sweet vanilla and oak. It gets slightly dry at the end.

A Wonderful Night Indeed

Chris signing the barrel after pouring in the bottles of Gentleman Jack

The tasting session ended with Chris pouring in a few bottles of Gentleman Jack into a barrel at Manhattan Bar to barrel age the whiskey further. As it is part of Manhattan’s barrel-aged program, we may have the chance to try the liquid after the maturation! We shall wait in anticipation.

We certainly enjoyed ourselves that evening and got to know Jack Daniel better as a brand and as a whiskey. We are apparently amazed by the different expressions and have since changed our minds about JD. Just like our friend, Brendan from The Single Cask, said, “So many years of prejudice against Jack Daniels, and it was washed away all in one night.” We feel the same way too!

 

Like what you have just read?

    Join WhiskyGeeks.sg as a member for FREE and receive our curated articles and videos in your mailbox every month!

    [mc4wp_checkbox]

    Whisky is brewing at Manhattan Bar!

    We are back with Edition 3 of What’s brewing at Manhattan Bar and we are sure that most of you are excited to know how the whisky has evolved. After sharing our updates for the past two weeks, we are now ready to share Version 3!

    Sazerac Rye Whisky

    Before we move on to the tasting notes and changes on version 3, let’s recap the previous posts. When the experiment first started, we tried the Sazerac rye whisky as it is and after it was aged in the barrel for six days and we compared the difference in their characteristics. Then last week, we updated the changes in the whisky after 13 days in the barrel. Today, we are bringing you version no. 3. How has the whisky change after 19 days?

    The whisky after 19 days

    After ageing the whisky in the barrel for almost three weeks now, the whisky has changed its characteristics again. The cane sugar, floral and herbaceous notes come back to the whisky. It is now richer and more elegant as compared to version 2 at 13 days. The palate is fuller in flavours, with cinnamon cough syrup with sherry. It almost tastes like a sherry rye whisky now. Spice tingle at the corner of the mouth to complement the sweet and herbaceous notes perfectly. The finish is also fairly long now with sweet cinnamon forming the aftertaste.

    Conclusion

    The main difference between version 3 and version 2 is the richer, more intense and elegant flavours found in the whisky. Now it tastes like whisky again with its slightly more complex profile and the reasonably long finish.

     

    Something is brewing at Manhattan Bar! What’s that?

    Our members got first-hand information on what’s brewing at Manhattan Bar last Wednesday. WhiskyGeeks is partnering both Whisky Butler and Manhattan Bar to bring about new whisky flavours and new barrel-aged cocktails. After last week’s introduction, we are back this week with a short update.

    Sazerac Rye Whisky

    To recap what happened last week, Manhattan Bar has placed the Sazerac Rye whisky into a barrel as an experiment of creating new whisky flavours. We tasted the original and a version of it after 6 days last week. Now, we are tasting it after 13 days.

    The whisky after 13 days

    In comparison to the original and the previous 6 days version, the 13 days version is much easier to drink. The sweetness of burnt maple syrup and caramel reduce significantly on the nose, and the acetone is almost gone. The whisky is now milder to drink, and the strong flavours on the palate are beginning to disperse, bringing caramel cola and hints of strawberries. It becomes refreshing instead of overwhelmingly sweet. The finish becomes even shorter than before. Sweet cola frizz, slightly minty but also tannic, astringent and slightly numbing on the tongue, similar to the feeling of eating GP-prescribed lozenges.

    Conclusion

    The barrel has imparted different flavours and characteristics to the whisky while taking away some of the whisky’s strong flavours. Overall, the experiment is going well as we see improvements in the whisky’s overall profile. In 13 days, the whisky is already milder in taste and an easier drink as compared to the original.

    Manhattan Bar Singapore – Asia Top Bar 2017

    Have you heard of Manhattan Bar? In case you have not, we wanted to highlight that it won the title of the NUMBER ONE bar in the top 50 bars in Asia in the 2017 Singapore Tourism Award Best Nightspot Experience, amongst other awards. If you are not aware, Manhattan is the grand hotel bar in Regent Singapore with their own Rickhouse and house-made cocktail ingredients. Manhattan boasts an intimate space for relaxation after a hard day’s work and house so many different cocktails that you are spoilt for choice! It is no wonder that the hotel holds the bar in high regards.

    Manhattan is inspired by the 19th century’s Golden Age of cocktail and fine drinking. Its glamorous and modern space gives the illusion of stepping into old New York. The classy interior and the brightly-lit shelves with its marble bar elevated on a “stage” give first-time visitors the vibes of being transported back to the 1800s. For returning customers, the cosiness of the bar envelopes them in a warm and welcoming hug. Coupled with the music, the bar brings you back to the soul of the Golden Age of the 19th century.

    A visit to Manhattan is an experience of both glamour and history. Besides the superb atmosphere, Manhattan also brings old and forgotten cocktails to life with craft bartending and artisanal spirits. All these are achieved with Manhattan’s dedicated bar team and their capable leaders.

    Introducing Manhattan’s Hero Trio

    Philip Bischoff, Bar Manager

    Phillip is born in Berlin, Germany. His interest in bartending began at the age of 23 when he started to make cocktails for his friends at home parties. He moved on to catering events and finally, he began his career as a bartender at nightclubs. At Manhattan, Philip takes charge of the bar operation with a special focus on enhancing the beverage programme for the outlet and alleviating the overall guest experience.

    Philip also leads the Friends of Manhattan Series, an initiative that encourages collaborations between industry partners, guest distillers and bartenders globally. This programme aims to provide trade professionals and cocktail aficionados with a platform to share their knowledge and passion for the craft.

    In addition, he also plays a key role in expanding the selections from the Rickhouse together with the rest of the bar team.

    Cedric Mendoza, Head Bartender

    Cedric Mendoza is a young, budding talent. His first experience in bartending was in Manhattan bar in 2014. The then 23-year-old young man was introduced to the world of cocktails and devoted the last couple of years to hone and develop his skills in both the art of bartending and the craft of cocktail-making. Cedric devours cocktail books to find new recipes and often strives to push himself further in his craft. That habit keeps him close to the fast-changing pace of the industry. Currently, he is one of the finalists in the Diageo World Class competition.

    Gabriel Carlos, Assistant Bar Manager

    Gabriel, who prefers to call himself Gab, is born in the Phillippines. His interest in bartending began as a school curriculum in college. He fell hard and fast for the craft and has never looked back since. Gab started his career as a bartender with Manhattan bar back in August 2014. His tireless persistence in honing his skills helped him to establish a strong foundation in the art of bartending and the craft of artisanal spirits and cocktails. He rose through the ranks fairly quickly, taking on the challenges of new responsibilities confidently. Gab was promoted to Assistant Bar Manager in 2016, where he assisted Philip in overseeing the bar team and operations at the bar. Together with the experienced bar team at Manhattan, Gab now produces cocktails behind the marble bar of Asia’s Best bar.

    Manhattan’s Barreling Programme

    In addition to Manhattan’s amazing array of cocktails and spirits, the bar is also a forerunner in creating barrel-aged Negronis. Guests are invited to join this unique experience to enhance their knowledge of cocktail-making as well as the influence of wood barrels on spirits.

    Guests can choose to either fill the fresh barrel with the spirit of their choice on their own or to allow Manhattan to fill it for them. After a few weeks of ageing in the barrel, the guests come back to Manhattan bar for the bottling and tasting of the spirit. Before the tasting commences, guests learn to mix up classic cocktails and bottle-aged variations straight from the barrel. The session also includes a tour inside the Rickhouse, where they get to see how whiskies are enhanced with various finishes. They will also understand the process of ageing cocktails in customed American oak barrels for complex profiles. Guests will also get a chance to meet the chefs of Manhattan bar in the Ingredient Room, where innovative bar bites are made. As a bonus, guests will get a hands-on tasting flight of various aged Negronis before the bottling session starts.

    The whole unique programme cost SGD$2,950/barrel and it can be shared between a maximum of 8 guests. This programme is exclusive in Singapore and hardly offered around the world too. Only a handful of microdistilleries currently offers this programme around the world. We could say that Singapore is really lucky to have such an offer at Manhattan!

    If you are interested in this programme, you can contact WhiskyGeeks at slainte@whiskygeeks.sg or send us a PM via Facebook Messenger. We will link you up with Manhattan Bar’s programme manager for a discussion.

     

    Like what you have just read?

      Join WhiskyGeeks.sg as a member for FREE and receive our curated articles and videos in your mailbox every month!

      [mc4wp_checkbox]