Black Manhattan

2 oz Bourbon (or rye)

1 oz Averna

1 ds Bitters, Angostura

1 Maraschino cherry (as garnish)

Instructions

Stir, strain, straight up, cocktail glass, garnish.

History

Original calls for Bourbon. Washington Post variation calls for rye, plus a dash of Regan's Orange bitters.

Cocktail summary

Created by

Bourbon & Branch, San Francisco, CA

Year

2008

Is an

authentic recipe

Reference

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2008/07/09/black-manhattan/

Curator

Not yet rated

Average

4 stars

(50 ratings)

Cocktail Book

From other users

Lemon peel to garnish- to cut the cola of the Averna — ★★★★
Went with heavy cardamom bitters. — ★★★
Black walnut bitters work well here. — ★★★★
1 dash orange bitters Try 1 dash of Cardamom bitters Brandied cherry
Made with Averna, Angostura, and cardamom bitters. Much drier than a normal Manhattan, quite good — ★★★
Buffalo Trace, regular Angostura. Excellent — ★★★★
Pretty good. Nice flavors, but borderline too sweet. Might be better with less Averna or some lemon to balance it. — ★★★

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Comments

The "Manhattan (Bitter)" created by Chris Amirault of eGullet.org is essentially the same as this (more authoritative) cocktail by Phil Ward. Chris's version used two dashes of Angostura Orange bitters in lieu of the regular Angostura bitters, and an orange twist.

A variation that sat nicely with me:

2.25 oz Maker's
.75 oz Cynar
Stir & strain.
Add the following to finish:
2 ds Angostura Orange Bitters
3 ds Peychaud's

I found that adding a couple of dashes of Scrappy's Cardamom Bitters (as well as Angostura) further enhanced the complexity of this drink

I've been making my version of this with the bittermens xocolatl mole bitters - the little bit of chocolate plays to the strengths of this sweeter Manhattan.

I used Jim Beam Black, because of its smoothness and full taste from being aged 8 years. I concur cardamom bitters is a nice touch. So might be black walnut bitters or Fee Bros. Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters. Regardless, I prefer an orange twist as opposed to orange bitters.I rate this change as 4 stars.