Black Manhattan

2 oz Rye (original was bourbon)
1 oz Averna
1 ds Bitters, Angostura
1 ds Orange bitters, Regans' orange bitters
1 Maraschino cherry (as garnish)
Instructions

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

Notes

Original 2005 recipe through ~early 2008 was bourbon, Averna, and homemade cherry-coffee bitters. Later in 2008 the drink changed to its present form.

History

Todd Smith originally created this cocktail at the Cortez restaurant's bar in San Francisco in 2005 using bourbon rather than rye. He brought the drink with him as bar director of Bourbon & Branch which opened in 2006. https://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/The-cosmo-free-zone-Bartending-puri… In 2007 Gaz Regan stated that the Bourbon & Branch version used bourbon, Averna, and "a couple of dashes of Todd Smith's homemade cherry-coffee bitters." https://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/the-manhattan-project-a-bartender-s…

Smith left Bourbon & Branch in early 2008, and they eventually ran out of his bitters. https://sf.eater.com/2008/3/6/6802155/eaterwire-changes-at-bourbon-bran…

Based on the 2008 Washington Post article recipe, the drink had evolved to its present widely known form a few months later: rye, Averna, a dash of Angostura Aromatic bitters, plus a dash of orange bitters.

Cocktail summary
Posted by Dan on
Created by
Todd Smith, Cortez, San Francisco, CA, later at Bourbon & Branch.
Year
2005
Is an
authentic recipe
Reference

https://web.archive.org/web/20090603045320/http://projects.washingtonpo…

Curator
Not yet rated
Average
4 stars
(69 ratings)
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From other users
  • More full bodied than regular Manhattan and a bit sweeter. Used Rittenhouse, Averna and black walnut bitters.
  • Went with heavy cardamom bitters.
  • Black walnut bitters work well here. — ★★★★
  • 1 dash orange bitters Try 1 dash of Cardamom bitters Brandied cherry
  • Though you'd think the stronger flavors of Averna would dominate, I find this drink tends to feature the character of the rye.
  • 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
Dan commented on 1/19/2012:

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.

Maxi commented on 9/26/2013:

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.

Good, but needs something else - the orange additions might be the way to go.

Curated to add the dash of Regans orange bitters, which appear to be original rather than a variant. Worth noting that while the Washington Post acknowledged bourbon as the original spirit, its preference for rye seems to reach consensus among sources like Imbibe, Punch, Liquor.com, Wine Enthusiast, Difford's, etc.

I have curated to fill out more of the history (with links) and used a Wayback Machine link for the 2008 Washington Post article/recipe. I set the current recipe to the 2008 version that has become the norm, while adding information on the original 2005 recipe in the notes & history.