Saturday Night Jazz at The MOTUS Twilight-Nocturne Lounge

Michelle Obama's Mirror ^ | 3-15-2014 | MOTUS

[NOBO2012]

Welcome to another evening at The MOTUS Twilight-Nocturne Lounge, where we melt the worries of life and time away with cocktails and music.

Little Mo is tending bar tonight.

Just nod, he knows what you want.

Tonight’s featured drink is the classic Manhattan cocktail:

The Manhattan is a boozy, sophisticated drink that embraces the energy of the city after which it's named. But unlike its cosmopolitan brother in arms, it is dark and moody: If the Martini is James Bond's drink, the Manhattan is Bruce Wayne's.

• 2 oz Bourbon or Rye Whiskey (Little Mo recommends Rye, although bourbon is traditional)
• 1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Little Mo recommends Dolin or Martini & Rossi)
• 2 Dashes of Bitters (Angostura or Cecil & Merl)
• 1-3 Cherries (Little Mo recommends dried tart cherries that you have marinated for a week in brandy or red wine)

• OR, a Twist of Lemon

• OR both

It’s a favorite of hapless Madison Avenue advertising executives like Mad Men’s Don Draper:

Don listens as boss Roger Sterling discloses his marital problems at the legendary Oak Room Bar in the fabled Plaza Hotel in this season-one Mad Men episode.

And North By Northwest’s Roger Thornhill, another NY ad executive, curiously mistaken for a government agent and framed for murder. Boy, who wouldn’t want to do that – frame a government agent, I mean.

Roger Thornhill, in happier times at the Oak Room Bar, before he was identified as a government worker.

As long as you’re not a New York advertising executive, Manhattans, in moderation of course, are probably safe to consume. So chill out with this evening’s special entertainment - Georgie Auld with his sultry rendition of Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers’ classic: “Harlem Nocturne.” I think it fits in nicely with tonight’s theme of hapless hucksters who may be either Mad Men or government agents, or both.

Enjoy.

“Harlem Nocturne”

Posted from: Michelle Obama’s Mirror

[lee martell]

Thanks for the Nocturne. I’d never heard that composition before.

[Fiji Hill]

Harlem Nocturne--The Viscounts (1959)

[crazylibertarian]

There’s also a Southern Comfort Manhattan. After a day on the ski slopes, it’s a drink for drifting off into warm contemplation before a roaring fire.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

I understood that you are supposed to make your Manhattan with Rye until Derby Day, then, bourbon. Back to rye after Labor day.

[The Great RJ]

Definitely use rye whiskey in your Manhattan.. I recommend Bulleit Rye, but treat yourself to the famous Templeton Rye if you can find it. Angostura bitters is a must. A splash of Leopold Brothers Tart Cherry Liqueur is a spectacular addition too.

[NOBO2012]

Lots of great ideas and things I didn’t know.
Thanks to everybody