Hey Slobodan, I do believe it's time to toast with a well made Manhattan!. My current favorite is Woodford Reserve Bourbon along with the Woodford Reserve Spiced Cherry Bitters and your favorite Vermouth.
За дружбу!
I hope the Russian toast is the right one.
Kevin in CT
Always happy to drink to that (
friendship)! Especially Manhattan. Though a Serbian equivalent would be:
Живели! (Long live!)
Speaking of toasts... especially Russian ones. When I was working in Russia for Johnson & Johnson in the mid-nineties, I was once invited to a company dinner with a lot of Russian business contacts (doctors, in this case). Working long hours and having nothing to eat all day, I was so looking forward to that dinner. My first attempt to transfer food from the plate to its destination was rudely interrupted mid-flight with a toast proposal. I lowered the fork and dutifully raised the glass in response to a lengthy toast extolling the virtues of friendship. At the end of it (though it seemed it would never end), I was so relieved, as i can finally go back to satisfy my hunger, now exacerbated by all the food on the table (if you've ever seen a Russian dinner table, you'd know all the food is on it simultaneously, especially when it comes to first courses). At that moment, cultural differences kicked in. You see, in my home country, a toast is a singular affair, relatively short and delivered by the host. So, after the toast, my fork started its second flight attempt, when I was introduced to the Russian custom of counter-toast: a guest decided to respond to the first toast with a (lengthy, of course) toast of his own. Once again, I dutifully dropped the fork and picked up the glass. I knew drinking on an empty stomach is not a good idea, so I'd just sip. Which caused me to learn the second rule of Russian toasts: certain toasts require bottoms-up. Those would be celebrating our children, wives, parents, homeland, etc. Not doing bottoms-up for
those would be considered rather rude. Long story short, after several counter-toasts that followed, I was already half-drunk and still very hungry