Taking the Bitter with the Sweet

This week's blog post is by Matt P. who tells us about the Monte Carlo, one of Cedar's most beloved cocktails:

photo by Linda Szewczyk

The Monte Carlo is one of the most popular cocktails at Cedar.  The first drink on our original list, it is near and dear to our hearts.  It is similar in style to a Manhattan, although it differs in several key ways.

Its base liquor is rye, a type of whiskey that has been experiencing a resurgence in recent years.  In the United States rye whiskey is made from a mash of at least 51 percent rye (the other ingredients of the
mash are usually corn and malted barley).  It is distilled to no more than 160 proof, and aged in charred new oak barrels.  The whiskey must be put into such barrels at no more than 125 (U.S.) proof.  Rye whiskey
that has been so aged for at least two years may be further designated as "straight," as in, "straight rye whiskey."   Rye was the prevalent whiskey of the northeastern states, especially Pennsylvania and Maryland, but largely disappeared after Prohibition.  The rye that we use at Cedar is Rittenhouse.  It is a 100 proof whiskey that is made in Kentucky using a pre-prohibition Pennsylvanian recipe.

photo by Linda Szewczyk

While a Manhattan uses sweet vermouth to round out and smooth the Whiskey, the Monte Carlo contains Bénédictine.  It is an herbal liqueur beverage invented by Alexandre Legrand (who later changed his name
to Alexandre Le Grand) in the nineteenth century and is produced in France.  The recipe contains twenty-seven plants and spices.  At the Benedictine Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy, monks had developed a medicinal aromatic herbal beverage.  It was produced until the abbey's devastation during the French Revolution.  

In 1863, Alexandre Legrand set out to recreate the recipe.  Working with a chemist, he developed the formula now in use.  He began production under the trade name "Bénédictine," using a bottle with an easily recognizable shape and label.  The family eventually sold the company to Martini and Rossi, which was in turn bought by Bacardi.  The recipe is a closely guarded trade secret, ostensibly known to only three people at any given time.  So many people have tried to reproduce it that the company maintains on its grounds in Fécamp a "Hall of Counterfeits" (Salle des Contrefaçons).  The bottle and label have been imitated, as has the name Bénédictine.  The manufacturing process involves several distillations which are then blended.  Bénédictine is celebrating it’s 500th anniversary this year.

The Monte Carlo also uses Peychaud bitters and Marasca cherries, further separating it from its more popular cousin.  Peychaud's bitters was originally created around 1830 by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole
apothecary from the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) who settled in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1795.  It is a gentian-based bitters, comparable to Angostura bitters, but with a lighter body, sweeter taste and more floral aroma.

The Marasca cherry (Prunus cerasus var. marasca) is a type of sour Morello cherry. The Marasca cherry is limited in its availability, as the tree has strict environmental requirements for successful growth.  The fruit's
largest yield is in Zadar in Croatia, but it has been successfully cultivated in northern Italy, Slovenia, southern Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina.  It is thought that the tree originated in Central Asia.

Compared to other cherries, the fruit of the Marasca cherry tree is small, with a bitter taste and a drier pulp. Those last two qualities make Marasca cherries ideal for creating fine cherry liqueur.  By definition, true Maraschino liqueur is supposed to be made only from Marasca cherries.  The Marasca cherry was also the original base cherry used to make Maraschino cherries.

~Matt P.