The Base
A tried and true classic, Manhattans are one of the simplest cocktails to make, consisting of only three ingredients: rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, and angostura bitters. Popular theories suggest that the Manhattan cocktail as it’s shown today was invented by Dr. Iain Marshall for a night party. While we here at Vintage Therapy love a classic look to our fashion, we also like to explore avenues of repurposing and upcycling - a creative, modern twist on older styles. With that in mind, we decided to see if we could craft cocktails that drew on the base ingredients but ventured into new taste profiles and aesthetics. A fun drink that followed the core beliefs of the vintage community. Thus, the “Cocktail Corner” begins with twisting the ultimate classic cocktail, the Manhattan. Let’s get mixin’!
Experimentation
With both vermouth and angostura bitters, a common complaint of the Manhattan is that it’s too bitter or herbal. For this version of the classic I went in a sweeter direction, inspired by fruit salads and a trivia question about orange juice as a mixer. The first step was the liquor. As we are in bourbon country, I subbed a local wheated bourbon in for rye whisky to replace the bite that rye whisky gives with a sweeter, more mellow tasting liquor.
Like wine, vermouths can range on a scale of dry and sweet. Sweet vermouths are red and dry vermouths are white. I used an extra sweet red to remove some of the herbal flavors and bitterness imparted by a dryer red (even though it would still be a “sweet” vermouth).
In most recipes, a maraschino cherry is added to a Manhattan for some sweetness to balance the harshness of angostura bitters. For this recipe, I combined the two ideas and used cherry bitters. While still fulfilling the role of bitters, it also took away the need for a maraschino cherry (which I rarely need).
Now, the goal of this drink was to be sweet, but there is such a thing as too sweet in a drink, and I didn’t want it to be overpowering. To prevent this, I added lime juice, and spritzed the drink with orange juice from the orange twist garnish. I threw on some Sinatra (a NYC legend for a NYC classic) to enjoy and I was done! The end product was still recognizably a Manhattan, reminiscent of a Manhattan sour, but creatively upcycled into something new. The slightly sour, citrusy taste paired well with the smooth baritone of Frank in the background. If you try this at home, let us know how it is, and we’ll see you next week in the Cocktail Corner.
Recipe
2 oz. Old Weller wheated bourbon
0.75 oz. extra sweet red vermouth
2 dashes of cherry bitters
½ tsp. Lemon juice
Orange garnish, twisted over the glass
Mix all ingredients in a glass over ice.
Strain into a chilled martini or other wide glass.
Twist the orange peel over the drink and add to the rim as garnish.
Put on Frank Sinatra or another jazz/blues musician and enjoy.
Written by: Caleb Gooden & Cameron Taylor
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