Barry – Recipe from David Embury’s ‘The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks’

Sweet Manhattan with a dash of white creme de menthe to each drink. Stir.

 

I must admit that ever since I was about 15 my friends and I made fun of the name Barry and Gary, they were the quintessential kiwi farmer names and in our minds drove Ute’s or beaten up Ford Escorts, lived in west Auckland, had long greasy hair, listened to early 80’s rock and there favourite colour was black. I still find myself having a little laugh every time I see these names pop up on a daily basis, no matter how wrong I know it is, so as you can imagine the moment I noticed this drink I had to try it.

This drink is awesome.

By far and away my favourite drink from the last couple of months, I suspect partially because of the brand of crème de menthe I’ve been using, Mette’s Feuille de Menthe, which I’m guessing is not what Mr Embury was using. Its got an ever so light green brown colour to it, and tastes like fresh mint, as opposed to an artificial mint and really brings drinks to life. At this stage as well I think I should thank Amathus Drinks, as when I asked for my bar manager to order crème de menthe this is what arrived, and the difference between this and a typical crème de menthe is like the difference between Barry’s Ford Escort and a Maybach.

Simply, it’s like a cross between a Manhattan and a Mint Julep, and it retains all the best properties of both.

Please try this drink, with the Mette Menthe, and be wowed.