Cocktail recipe
Black Manhattan
Rye and dark amaro give the Manhattan a deeper, bittersweet silhouette.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) rye whiskey
- 30 ml (1 oz) Amaro Averna
- 1 dash aromatic bitters
- 1 dash orange bitters
- Garnish: 1 brandied cherry
Preparation
Stir the rye, Averna and both bitters over plenty of hard ice until cold and glossy. Strain into a chilled stemmed glass; the drink should arrive dark, clear and spirit-forward. Drop in one good brandied cherry—nothing else is needed.
Glassware
Chilled Nick & Nora glass
History
Bartender Todd Smith created the Black Manhattan in San Francisco in 2005, associated with Bourbon & Branch. Replacing sweet vermouth with Amaro Averna transformed the classic Manhattan’s sweet-wine profile into a darker herbal bitterness. Some later articles incorrectly date the drink to 2015, a decade after the accepted origin. The recognizable original uses Averna specifically; other amari produce legitimate riffs, not exact historical reproductions. We use rye for a firm spice backbone, though whiskey choices vary among modern interpretations.
Mixology View
Averna is a co-star, not a generic “dark liqueur.” Keep the whiskey strong enough to carry it.