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I used to date a man who ordered Perfect Manhattans and when invited to call the liquor would instead call the vermouth. They were great, and he ordered them with a twist, instead of a cherry.
When I used to go to Bondir in Concord (RIP, I sure loved that place), I got their Belmont Stakes (their invention), and it included Nocino. Which I love. But when I first bought Nocino, I forgot why and at some point I started putting a dash in a manhattan. And honestly, I haven't really looked back since. After decades of trying to establish some sort of stable drinking pattern -- I accidentally forget to drink alcohol for months at a time -- I've finally hit upon My Drink. I look forward to it every day. I've put together a travel kit. I inflict it on other people -- but if you don't love brown liquor, this probably isn't for you.
Pour into a shaker:
2 ounces rye whisky (Hudson, Rittenhouse, Crown Royal Northern Harvest)
1 ounce vermouth (Carpano Antico Formula)
dash of bitters (Peychaud's)
dash of Nocino (for that swamp water color)
Put some ice in an up glass. When it is cool enough, transfer to the shaker. Put three Luxardo cherries (there are other options, but if all you have are grocery store maraschinos then go with a twist of lemon instead) into the up glass. Pour the contents of the shaker in. Enjoy!
You can shake the shaker if you like, but you don't have to. The longer the ice sits in the shaker before you pour, the more diluted the beverage. As long as your companions don't mind, you can consume those rocks, too. They are quite tasty and will help with the inevitable dehydration.
2 ounces Rye
1 ounce Tempus Fugit Creme de Cacao (Marie Brizard if you can't get the Tempus Fugit, but it is sad by comparison)
Scrappy's Chocolate Bitters (or Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate is good, too)
3 Luxardo Cherries (if you can't get good cherries, an orange twist, ideally a mandarin or clementine)
I finally can make a perfect manhattan at home that I love. I am slow; it took me a while to realize I really wanted less white and more red vermouth.
.5 ounce blanco carpano
.75 ounce Contratto red or Carpano sweet
1.25 ounce rye
dash ango
1-3 good (e.g. amarena, luxardo) cherries
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Copyright Rebecca Allen, 2017.
Created February 15, 2017 Updated 16 May 2019