The Manhattan Project - Little Branch

Recent West Village wanderings took us into subterranean cocktail den Little Branch (22 Seventh Avenue South) in search of a good Manhattan. While we like the look of the space, the drinks themselves have never really impressed us. We slid into one of the tight booths and ordered a Manhattan. The waitress didn't ask for a booze preference but when it arrived, there was a familiar quality to it. Hmm, we thought. Could it be Old Overholt, our own house rye? Sure enough it was. Makes a nicely balanced Manhattan, though theirs was a tad drier than the Head Bartender version. At $12 a solid version of a classic cocktail.