I was not overly impressed with Redemption Bourbon when I first reviewed it. It had a lot of rough edges and it was not a whiskey I’d drink neat. As a sipper Redemption Bourbon scored a 40/100, making it fit to make mixed drinks with. Read the full review here.

Since it didn’t make the cut as a sipper, let’s see if Redemption Bourbon can redeem itself in a classic Manhattan.

This bottle of Redemption was sitting on a shelf for a while after I tried it neat. That’s problem because my wife gets mad at me if I have bottles overflowing from the bar. With no other choices, I figured I’d better polish the bottle off, no matter how much I didn’t like it the first time around.

I went in with a little concern that a Redemption Bourbon Manhattan wouldn’t be much better than the base whiskey. Thankfully, the vermouth did its magic and smoothed out a lot of the rough edges and helped line up some of the positive notes in the base whiskey. The sweetness and maybe the volume dilation that the vermouth added took the harshness off the Redemption and allowed me to appreciate more of the vanilla and spice. I’m not a huge fan of rye though, so the vermouth may also help round out those rye notes that I’m just not programmed to like from the start.

When making a Manhattan, this Redemption Bourbon jumped 13 point, bringing it to a 53/100, which is a respectable 32.5% increase. While it is better, it still leaves this Redemption Bourbon Manhattan in the “If I had Limited Choices” category.

Pros

• Smooths out most of the rough edges the straight bourbon had.
• The sweetness of the vermouth mixes with the hard edges of the Redemption and turns it into a nice mixed drink.

Cons

• Even with the vermouth, this Manhattan has a little bit of burn going down the throat.

I prefer my bourbon on the rocks, as I find that a little ice helps open up the whiskey. This is how I tried Knob Creek Small Batch to begin with, and quite honestly, I found it not to my taste.

What do I do with bottles of whiskey I don’t really enjoy? I find that making Manhattan’s with them makes the whiskey much more palatable. For whiskey I don’t like on the rocks I use the classic Manhattan recipe:

• Two ounces of whiskey
• One ounce of sweet vermouth

I user a Shaker and get the cocktail nice and cold before pouring it into my trusty YETI Rambler 10 oz Lowball. This 10 oz Rambler is perfect for ice cold cocktails. A martini glass looks cool, but this Rambler won’t sweat or leave a condensation ring. Because of its double walled design, it will also keep the warm from your hand from warming up that previous cocktail. This means the last sip will be as cold as the first.

Did the prep work pay off? Was a Knob Creek Small Batch Manhattan good?

Yes, but not jump up and down yes. The vermouth really helped round out the rough edges I didn’t like in Knob Creek Small Batch straight or on ice. As a Manhattan, this whiskey gained more body and lost a lot of those rough edges. For me it earned a 69/100, putting it in the “If I Had Limited Choices” category. The Vermouth really turns the burnt sugar into something smoother, but not enough that I’d choose it over something else if I had a choice.

Pros

• Turns the burnt taste of this bourbon when straight into something softer and drinkable.

Cons:

• The sugar in the Vermouth adds to the flavor, but if your watching your sugar like I am, you have to be careful not to have too many Manhattans.