Whisky · Stir · Coupe · 4 min
Black Manhattan
A Manhattan with Averna, a Sicilian amaro, in place of sweet vermouth: darker, more bitter and a little herbal. It came from San Francisco in the mid-2000s.
What's in it
- 60ml (2 oz) Rye whiskey
- 30ml (1 oz) Averna
- 1 dash Aromatic bitters
- 1 dash Orange bitters optional
- 1 Cocktail cherry optional
How to make it
- Chill a coupe.
- Stir the rye, Averna and both bitters with ice in a mixing glass until it frosts.
- Strain into the chilled coupe and drop in a cherry.
Other ways to make it
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What cocktail can I make?Where it came from
Bartender Todd Smith came up with it in 2005 while working at Cortez, a San Francisco restaurant, when he was exploring amari and tried Averna in place of vermouth. It found a wider audience at Bourbon & Branch, which opened in 2006 with Smith running the bar, so many accounts credit it to that bar. His first version used bourbon, half an ounce of Averna and his own house-made cherry-coffee bitters; the rye-based spec with a full ounce of Averna came later.
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