Old School New: Exploring Bourbon and Whiskey Cocktail Paradigms

Mike Miller of Chicago’s whiskey Mecca Delilah’s (which offers an impressive 350-plus whiskeys from 11 countries) says, “Brown spirits are already drinks, while white spirits are waiting for something to mix with. Whiskey is not only the base, it is the primary flavor of a good whiskey cocktail.”…
[Miller] insists that the mixologist’s task is to highlight the flavor of the primary spirit. He uses a wide range of whiskeys. Everything from blended Scotch whisky to single malts from Scotland, Ireland and Japan, as well as bourbon, is all fair game.
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Mike Miller prefers fine tuning the classics. He scrutinizes each step and each addition, being careful to never disturb the core, whiskey. When making his Manhattan, he first places a raw sugar cube on a napkin and carefully doses it with two types of bitters. “What soaks through to the napkin is left behind,” he says. “Too much bitters kills a good Manhattan.”

Nightclub & Bar Magazine