Bourbon Dose

Everyone loves a Manhattan cocktail, and our easy-to-make Manhattan Cocktail Recipe was so popular for our readers, that we decided to go in depth on some fantastic Manhattan cocktail variations! In this blog post, we will share my top 3 favorite Manhattan variations, including the elusive Brooklyn Manhattan, tangy Cherry Manhattan, and hauntingly classy Black Manhattan.

Manhattan Variation: Brooklyn Manhattan

It shouldn’t be shocking at all, but this variation of the Manhattan is actually named after the New York City neighborhood of Brooklyn, and the name is a slight rivalry dig at their neighboring borough. This drink is delicious and you’ll notice that the typical sweet vermouth we use in the classic Manhattan is getting substituted for dry vermouth in this recipe. Never fear, though! The maraschino liqueur saves the day in this recipe, and beautifully balances the bitterness that we typically see in a drink like this. Here’s a great list of Maraschino liqueur. I’m personally a huge fan of the Luxardo brand for this ingredient.

As I note below, if you can’t find Amer Picon, Angostura & Orange bitters are a very solid substitute in this drink.

Brooklyn Manhattan Ingredients:

• 2 ounces rye whiskey
• 1 ounce dry vermouth
• 1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
• 1/4 ounce Amer Picon (substitute 2 dashes of Angostura or Orange bitters if you don’t have this)
• Instructions:

Instructions

1. In a shaker filled with ice, combine the rye whiskey, vermouth, maraschino liqeur, and Amer Picon.
2. Shake well and strain into a chilled coupe glass or rocks glass.
3. Garnish with a lemon twist and serve immediately.

Manhattan Variation: Cherry Manhattan

Finding the right cherry juice is going to be key to this cocktail. Because the Manhattan is already a somewhat sweet beverage, finding the perfect cherries will determine the exact direction your cocktail will take. There’s an entire school of thought on the best cherries to use in this cocktail (and a fantastic breakdown of the different marachino cherries you can get here), but I am personally a huge fan of the Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrel Cherries. They’re not overpoweringly sweet, and have the perfect level of tart to take this cocktail to the next level.

Cherry Manhattan Ingredients:

• 2 ounces rye whiskey
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth
• 1 ounce of cherry juice (tart or sour)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Cherry, for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a mixing glass filled with ice, combine the rye whiskey, cherry juice, sweet vermouth, and bitters.
2. Stir well and strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with a cherry and serve immediately.

Manhattan Variation: Black Manhattan

This variation has a delicious depth to it. By using Amoro instead of vermouth, we get a lovely bitter & chocolaty flavor depth to this drink. For Amoro – many people will go with Averna, but if you love playing around with bitters, here’s a fantastic list of other brands you can play around with.

Black Manhattan Ingredients

• 2 ounces rye whiskey
• 1 ounce Amoro
• 1 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 dash orange bitters
• Cherry, for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a mixing glass filled with ice, combine the rye whiskey, Amoro, and bitters.
2. Stir well and strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with a cherry & lemon twist and serve immediately.