Black Walnut Manhattan
A late-fall Manhattan with the bitter snap of black walnut and the molasses bend of Carpano Antica. Drink it the same week you bring the heavy coats down from the closet.
Coupe — 28% ABVIngredients
- 2 ozRittenhouse Bottled-in-Bond rye, or any 100-proof rye with backbone
- ¾ ozCarpano Antica Formula, do not substitute the cheap stuff
- ¼ ozDemerara syrup, 1:1, optional, makes it round
- 2 d.Black walnut bitters, Fee Brothers or Bittermens
- 1 d.Angostura aromatic bitters
- —Luxardo brandied cherry, to garnish
Method
Chill a coupe in the freezer. Twenty minutes minimum; a warm glass kills the drink before it begins.
Combine rye, vermouth, syrup, and both bitters in a mixing glass over a generous fill of clear, hard ice.
Stir with a long bar spoon for 35 to 45 seconds — long enough to chill and dilute, short enough to keep the texture taut.
Strain into the coupe through a fine mesh. The pour should fill the bowl to the inner curl, not the rim.
Drop a single brandied cherry. No twist. The walnut bitters carry the aromatics — citrus oil only muddies them.
Drink within ten minutes. Past that, the dilution turns it slack.