004 – The Manhattan

Yet another re-imagined version of the famous Manhattan cocktail.

Sydney’s Covid Lockdown has inspired me to take this simple cocktail back to its roots and add a little change of my own. Here is the resulting recipe and some cocktail background.

Make your own ‘Locktail’ Manhattan. Here is the recipe:

METHOD — Chill glassware in fridge or with ice, coat with 5ml Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur and empty leaving Maraschino residue just prior to adding cocktail mix. Add 60ml Rye Whiskey, 30ml Amaro Montenegro and 4-dashes of Fee Brothers – Aztec Chocolate Bitters over ice in a mixing glass, stir well and strain into the cocktail glass. Garnish with a Maraschino Cocktail Cherry and an optional slice of Orange skin.

HISTORICAL NOTES – The ‘Manhattan’ is another inclusion in the International Bartenders Association (IBA) classic ‘Unforgettables’ list that is limited to 33-cocktails. The first written mention was in 1882 and the oldest surviving recipe is in Byron’s 1884 book, The Modern Bartenders Guide. At different times in history, this cocktail has been one of the best known, and not surprisingly there are many origin stories, most merely mythology. It is also one of the most varied cocktail recipes. In Schmidt’s 1891 book, The Flowing Bowl, the recipe includes the addition of arabic gum syrup, a dash of absinthe and the optional inclusion of a little maraschino. Other recipes have included orange curacao and all manner of bitters. Although most commonly Angostura Bitters, the older recipes more commonly list Orange Bitters.

The biggest debate is around the base spirit, the original would have been Rye Whiskey as New York was a ‘rye whiskey drinking town’. During prohibition Canadian Whiskey or other spirits were substituted and many recipes call for Bourbon (mistakenly in my opinion). The many variations change the base spirit and Vermouth mixes, with the well know variant a ‘Perfect Manhattan’ using a combination of dry and sweet Vermouth with the Rye Whiskey. Three of the other four New York boroughs have lent their names to variations of this famous cocktail. Vermouth is also a very variable ingredient, and any Vermouth cocktail can have its flavour changed dramatically by the choice of Vermouth. The original Manhattan would have used Italian Vermouth, generally much sweeter and less ‘wine like’ than French variations.

THE OFFICIAL MIX – The IBA ‘Manhattan’ version is here. It is 50ml Rye Whiskey, 20ml Sweet Red Vermouth, 1-dash Angostura Bitters and garnished with a cocktail cherry.

TASTING NOTES – Suggested as a ‘before dinner drink’, the Manhattan celebrates Rye Whisky, with the addition of bitterness, herbal notes and dryness from the Vermouth and Bitters. This is not generally a sweet cocktail and will disappoint those who favour sweet over bitter. There is however enormous scope to play with the balances is this time-traveled cocktail.

LOCKTAIL CHANGES – I have tried to make this fourth Sydney Covid Lockdown Cocktail – Locktail – a homage to the origins of the Manhattan while at the same time connecting it to Sydney. Rather than playing with mixes of Vermouth, I have gone for Amaro Montenegro to enhance the core Sazerac Rye Whiskey, a variation on another well-known Manhattan variant called a ‘Black Manhattan’. Amaro Montenegro has similarly long history, from its origins in 1885, and it stays connected to the Italian flavour heritage of the Manhattan. Amaro Montenegro has 40-botanicals and includes both a bitter and Vermouth-like flavour profile, with subtleties including chocolate and eucalyptus (my connection to Sydney). I have further strengthened the chocolate notes with Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters. Fee brother are a New York institution founded in 1864 and one can imagine their bitters being used in early Manhattan mixes. This mix took me some time to find a simple blend that really combined well.

YOUR LOCKTAIL EXPERIENCE – If you’d rather taste than read, I am building an ingredient list and other sourcing information on this site (stay tuned). I will re-use ingredients where I can (good for my budget too), so that the cost goes down overtime if you are ‘playing at home’.

Let me know what you think.

Cocktails you’d like reinvented.

Recipes you’ve tried and your ‘score’.

Coming up soon, more cocktails from the 1800s. Or take a look at the previous ones, the Jimmy McCollins, the Americano and the Sazerac.