Love the Manhattan { a riff on our most cherished cocktail }

Manhattans = Love. Enjoy a Black Manhattan to celebrate the month of l’amour.

Deep in the heart of winter, February rolls around with a promise of love to warm you up. Another perfect way to warm up is with the cocktail we truly love, the Manhattan. It’s the ideal antidote to a bitter-cold winter evening. It evokes age-old cocktail glamour and satisfies like nothing else. We love a two-to-one ratio of whiskey to sweet vermouth, with a dash or two of bitters. Beyond that, there is room to play. You can substitute Averna, a bittersweet Sicilian amaro, for the vermouth for a deep, rich Black Manhattan; or Mirto, a Sardinian sloe berry liqueur that adds almost a hint of menthol. And if you don’t want to stray too far from our favored recipe, you can enjoy an Orange Bitters Manhattan. Just make sure you have some orange bitters on hand and a more bitter vermouth, such as Punt e Mes. For brownie points, try mixing in a new whiskey variety for your own take on this enduring classic, or another fortified wine, such as Dubonnet rouge, in lieu of the vermouth. The possibilities are endless.



Manhattan
(Cocktail Buzz’s preferred ratio)

Ingredients
2 ounces rye whiskey (or bourbon)
1 ounce sweet vermouth (we like Carpano Antica)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
maraschino, brandied, or marascha cherry, for garnish.

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Add cherry.

Black Manhattan
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces rye whiskey (or bourbon)
1 ounce Averna
2 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged bitters
maraschino, brandied, or marascha cherry, for garnish.

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Add cherry.

Myrtle Manhattan
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
3/4 ounces rye (we like Sazerac)
3/4 ounces bourbon (we like Eagle Rare Single Barrel)
3/4 ounces mirto (Sardinian or Corsican myrtle liqueur)
dash orange bitters
dash Peychaud’s bitters
maraschino, brandied, or marascha cherry, for garnish.

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Add cherry.

Orange Bitters Manhattan
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces bourbon or rye (try a wheated bourbon, such as Old Fitzgerald’s 1849 or Maker’s Mark)
1 ounces Punt e Mes sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura orange bitters
maraschino, brandied, or marascha cherry, for garnish.

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Add cherry.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates are a perfect pairing for any of these Manhattans, with the bonus of being incredibly easy to throw together.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates

Ingredients
2 dozen dates
12 slices bacon (we like regular or low-sodium)
almonds (optional)

Method
You can either preheat oven to 350°F or use an outdoor grill, with hot coals. Cut the bacon in half and wrap a strip around each date. You can insert an almond into the dates through its natural hole if you desire, for added flavor. Place the bacon-wrapped dates (with the seam side down) onto a lined baking sheet, or a grill pan if using an outdoor grill. Bake for 15 minutes, until the bacon looks crispy. If using an outdoor grill, flip the dates, cooking about 5 minutes on each side, or until the bacon looks crispy. Remove from heat and add toothpicks if you desire.

Serves 6.

A version of the article first appeared on BarNoneDrinks.com.

Mixology Monday XXXVIII: Superior Twists“The Manhattan Gets a Makeover”

The Black Manhattan, a dark and rich cousin of the classic cocktail.

After years of stirring and shaking, infusing and mixing, we’ve come to the conclusion that the Manhattan is our favorite cocktail. We’re not saying we want one all the time—only when the need for a high-octane jolt of whiskey and vermouth dashed with a little bitters begs to be imbibed. But sometimes, when switching out rye for a bourbon or using Carpano Antica instead of sweet vermouth isn’t enough of a flavor-profile change, we like to open up the Averna and make a Black Manhattan. For those of you who have never had Averna, do. Averna is a Sicilian amaro, a bitter lower-alcohol liqueur distilled from and mixed with natural ingredients. It’s very Italian and is a part of many natives’ daily ritual, drunk with soda, to stimulate the appetite (think Campari). Some drink it after dinner, to aid the digestion. Averna in particular is on the sweeter side, very dark, with hints of caramel, cocoa, coffee, and menthol. Once considered solely a digestivo, Averna is now found in cocktail bars and restaurant bars throughout the U.S.

Making a Black Manhattan is simple: just use Averna instead of sweet vermouth. For our recipe, we like to use Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters instead of Angostura.

Black Manhattan
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients

2 ounces rye (or bourbon)
1 ounce Averna
2 dashes whiskey bitters
brandied cherry, as garnish

Method

Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Add cherry.

The first thing you notice about the Black Manhattan is its color: shimmery almost-ebony. The second thing you notice is its aroma: complex, sweet, herbal. The third thing you notice, the taste. It’s a potent drink, stronger than a Manhattan, so be careful because you may not be able to stop at just one.

Once you’ve had a Black Manhattan, it’s difficult to get Averna out of your head (or tastebuds, rather). We started experimenting with Averna mixed with other spirits, and Steve came up with a recipe that puts Averna in the fore. He calls it Il Bravo, and its another dark cousin to the Manhattan, only he uses cognac.

Il Bravo
(created by Steve Schul)

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces Averna
1 1/4 ounces cognac
3/4 ounce. Grand Marnier
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
lemon peel, as garnish

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Add peel.

You can always lighten up Il Bravo by adding some ice and a splash of soda.

(hosted by Tristan, The Wild Drink Blog)

photo © Cocktail Buzz