tomahawk66 Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 About a year back a friend who sells single malt whisky here in Shanghai, China took me to a great cocktail bar and introduced me to a rising star in the bar-tender world - Daniel An. After chatting for 10 minutes about the various merits of different tipples (for me it's single malts, bourbon, classic martini's and pink gin) he jumped behind the bar as if struck by divine inspiration and whipped up an impossible cocktail: Using Mescal, Rattenhouse rye, sweet vermouth, DOM and 2 bitters he created a twist on the New Orleans "Vieux Carre" that came out like a smoky Manhattan tempered with the honey of a fine bourbon and cut with the crispness of a martini and the lingering aftertaste of bitters... It. Blew. My. Mind. I asked him what it was called and he promptly named it after me: Oliver (my name) and twist for the twist on two cocktails: the Manhattan and the Vieux Carre (and because that was a pretty obvious choice!) And so the Oliver Twist was born! However due to the difficulty of getting good Mescal and the fact that Daniel had limited creative influence in the bar, it would be 12 months before I had the chance to drink this heavenly tonic again. Daniel's rise was unstoppable, competing in barman competitions around the world, the kid for the impoverished boonies 6 hours drive outside of Shanghai did good and achieved his dream: opening his own bar with full creative control. A cozy and beautiful space in the heart of the old colonial former French concession, Monsieur An is free to follow his heart and create insanely good drinks. I finally got to visit him after the place had been open 3 months and when he saw me he didn't even ask me what I wanted... It's officially immortalized on his menu: So I can now tick off "having a drink named after me" from my bucket list (although at 22 bucks a glass I'm not sure how often I'll drink it!!) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRippley Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Wow, that is a great story, and congrats on having your ultimate cocktail named after you Oliver! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 Trader Vic's Suffering Bastard isn't named after me, but it certainly could be! Great story, Oliver! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 A fairy tail come true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomahawk66 Posted September 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2015 Now if only I could make the darn thing at home!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted September 21, 2015 Report Share Posted September 21, 2015 Seriously cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomahawk66 Posted September 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 I am planning a cocktail lesson with Daniel and a few buddies... I would like to be able to make a few show stoppers at home - especially the "Oliver Twist"! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted July 28, 2018 Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 @tomahawk66 Just saw this thread, really cool story and the drink looks right up my alley. did you figure out the amounts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted July 28, 2018 Report Share Posted July 28, 2018 Great story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
