Manhattan, Cocktail Codex

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with the blood orange wheel.

Martinez

CLASSIC

True, the Martini and its variations typically involve a simple harmony of spirit and vermouth, but as just mentioned, a host of cocktails in its extended family also include a small amount of liqueur. In the Martinez, just 1 teaspoon of maraschino liqueur brings both fruitiness and astringency, qualities that pair beautifully with the vanilla flavors in aged spirits and sweet vermouth. When coming up with Martinez variations, the liqueur is a great place to start, given that there are so many interesting choices to explore, from Bénédictine, which introduces a honeyed sweetness and herbal undertones, to fruit liqueurs, such as peach, apricot, or raspberry.

1½ ounces Hayman’s Old Tom gin

1½ ounces Carpano Antica Formula vermouth

1 teaspoon Luxardo maraschino liqueur

2 dashes House Orange Bitters (this page)

Garnish: 1 lemon twist

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then set it on the edge of the glass.

Mea Culpa

DEVON TARBY, 2015

We often say that bitter and sweet ingredients can act as glue, binding disparate components of a drink together, and this cocktail provides a great example. Small amounts of two liqueurs—bittersweet China-China Amer and rich apricot liqueur—marry the vodka with not one but two sherries, giving this drink a quiet backbone of dried fruit and nuts with a pleasant lingering bitterness.

2 ounces Grey Goose vodka

¾ ounce Alexander Jules fino sherry

¼ ounce Williams & Humbert Dry Sack sherry

1 teaspoon Giffard Abricot du Roussillon

1 teaspoon Bigallet China-China Amer

2 drops Salt Solution (this page)

Garnish: 1 lemon twist

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then set it on the edge of the glass.

Beth’s Going to Town

DANIEL ZACHARCZUK, 2015

Here’s a complex, Martinez-style drink that uses a soft scotch and a rich, spicy contemporary gin in place of the traditional Old Tom gin. This is a great example of the value of knowing your ingredients: The unique sarsaparilla flavors of the Aviation gin marry well with the cola notes found in both the sweet Spanish vermouth and the Ramazzotti amaro; substituting another brand of any of these ingredients will yield markedly different results.

1 ounce Highland Park 12-year scotch

1 ounce Aviation gin

½ ounce Carpano Antica sweet vermouth

¼ ounce Giffard Abricot du Roussillon

¼ ounce Ramazzotti

Garnish: 1 mint leaf

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Old-Fashioned glass. Garnish with the mint leaf.

Brooklyn

CLASSIC

Another strategy for experimenting with the balance is to substitute small amounts of amari or liqueurs for a portion of the vermouth or aromatized wine. The most classic example of this is the Brooklyn, a riff on the Manhattan that uses a bit of amaro and just a teaspoon of maraschino liqueur. Despite its Manhattan-adjacent name, you can quickly recognize this drink as a rye-based variation on the Martinez (this page) because of the liqueur. Though the Brooklyn was historically made with Amer Picon, an orange-flavored French liqueur, modern bottlings of Amer Picon—if you can even find them—are less bitter and flavorful than older versions, so in its place we use China-China Amer, a bittersweet aperitif crafted with the classic Amer Picon recipe in mind.

2 ounces Rittenhouse rye

¾ ounce Dolin dry vermouth

¼ ounce Bigallet China-China Amer

1 teaspoon Maraska maraschino liqueur

Garnish: 1 brandied cherry

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with the cherry.

Poet’s Dream

CLASSIC

As you may recall from the Improved Whiskey Cocktail (this page) in chapter 1, the term improved refers to adding a bit of highly flavorful liqueur to a basic cocktail. This is a valuable way of thinking about how seemingly minor adjustments can create distinctive new variations. In the Poet’s Dream, a basic Martini is “improved” by backing off on the vermouth a bit and including a bit of herbaceous Bénédictine.

2 ounces Beefeater gin

¾ ounce Dolin dry vermouth

¼ ounce Bénédictine

2 dashes House Orange Bitters (this page)

Garnish: 1 lemon twist

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then set it on the edge of the glass.

European Union

ALEX DAY, 2009

Before creating this drink, we’d only encountered Calvados in drinks as a base spirit. In this Martinez variation, a small amount of Calvados softens the Old Tom gin and adds a fruity depth to the drink, while a touch of Strega adds complexity, acting much like bitters. All the (pre-Brexit) European friends in one glass.

1½ ounces Hayman’s Old Tom gin

½ ounce Busnel VSOP Calvados

¾ ounce Carpano Antica Formula vermouth

1 teaspoon Strega

1 dash Bitter Truth aromatic bitters

Garnish: 1 brandied cherry

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with the cherry.

Watercress

DEVON TARBY, 2016

When you glance at this drink’s ingredients, you might expect a savory cocktail to emerge, but using a centrifuge to make the Watercress-Infused Gin releases all of the plant’s peppery flavors without making the gin taste like a liquid salad. Don’t have a centrifuge? No sweat: just lightly muddle a few watercress leaves with the vermouths and peach liqueur, then remove them and build the cocktail. Just as you might add dried fruit to a salad of bitter greens, here we add a small measure of a peach liqueur to add a fruity complexity to the cocktail.

1½ ounces Watercress-Infused Gin (this page)

½ ounce Absolut Elyx vodka

¾ ounce Dolin dry vermouth

¼ ounce Dolin blanc vermouth

½ teaspoon Giffard Crème de Pêche

1 drop Salt Solution (this page)

Garnish: 1 Golden Delicious apple slice

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with the apple slice.

Negroni

CLASSIC

By and large, the cocktails in this chapter are characterized by a core flavor of spirit and vermouth or another aromatized wine, and generally speaking, they fail when those components aren’t in balance. However, there is an exception to this rule (as there always is): the Negroni, a deeply bitter cocktail made with a full ounce of Campari. Because Campari brings a lot of proof to the drink, the Negroni has less gin, and it finds its balance in the typical core of gin and vermouth, but in an equal-parts combination in which the amaro is a unified part of the core, with the gin providing a clean structure upon which the bitterness of Campari is balanced by the richness of the sweet vermouth. In the variations that follow, you’ll find a few other cocktails that employ a similar tactic, substituting high-alcohol liqueurs or other amari for the Campari, and adjusting the balance of ingredients so they harmonize as a whole.

1 ounce Tanqueray gin

1 ounce Carpano Antica Formula sweet vermouth

1 ounce Campari

Garnish: 1 orange half wheel

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into an Old-Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Garnish with the orange half wheel.

Strawberry Negroni

CLASSIC

This Negroni riff doesn’t veer too far from the original cocktail, but does so in ways that are profoundly delicious. A touch of Clarified Strawberry Syrup rounds off the bitter edges of the Campari, while drops of chocolatey (but dry) Cacao Nib Tincture deepens the bittersweet connection between Campari and sweet vermouth.

1 ounce Beefeater Gin

¾ ounce Campari

¾ ounce Dolin Sweet Vermouth

¼ ounce Clarified Strawberry Syrup (this page)

5 drops Cacao Nib Tincture (this page)

Garnish: 1 strawberry slice

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into an Old-Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Garnish with the strawberry slice.

White Negroni

WAYNE COLLINS, 2000

Replacing the Negroni’s rich, red cloak of sweet vermouth and Campari with light, citrusy Suze (a French aperitif) and floral Dolin blanc, yields the White Negroni. We think of it as a seasonal wardrobe swap, and though we do drink classic Negronis year-round, in summer we like to go with the white.

1½ ounces Beefeater gin

1 ounce Dolin blanc vermouth

¾ ounce Suze

Garnish: 1 orange twist

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into an Old-Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Express the orange twist over the drink, then gently rub it around the rim of the glass and place it into the drink.

La Rosita

CLASSIC

Is this a tequila-laced Perfect Manhattan (this page) with the addition of Campari, or a tequila Negroni that splits the vermouths? Either way, the addition of dry vermouth is key in our version of Gary Regan’s adaptation of a recipe found in an old copy of Mr. Boston: Official Bartender’s Guide, as the savory flavors of the Dolin blanc amplify the vegetal quality of the tequila.

1½ ounces Siembra Azul reposado tequila

½ ounce Carpano Antica Formula vermouth

½ ounce Dolin dry vermouth

½ ounce Campari

1 dash Angostura bitters

Garnish: 1 orange twist

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Express the orange twist over the drink, then gently rub it around the rim of the glass and place it into the drink.

Boulevardier

CLASSIC

The Boulevardier dates back to the 1920s, when it made an appearance in Barflies and Cocktails, a seminal cocktail book written by Harry MacElhone, the owner of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. The original recipe called for equal portions of each ingredient, a ratio that has shifted, over the years, in favor of whiskey. Now that you understand the basic orthodoxy of the Martini (and, likewise, the Negroni), this shouldn’t come as a surprise: although a perfectly delicious Boulevardier can be made with equal measures, using more bourbon and less Campari and vermouth promotes the whiskey’s flavor just enough that it asserts itself.

1½ ounces Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon

¾ ounce Carpano Antica Formula vermouth

¾ ounce Campari

Garnish: 1 brandied cherry

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with the cherry.

Old Pal

CLASSIC

The Old Pal is almost identical to the Boulevardier, with dry vermouth being substituted for the sweet, and rye whiskey instead of bourbon. Though this Old Pal teeters toward sweet, it’s also spicy thanks to the rye, with a bright backbone from the French vermouth, and a bitter finish via Campari.

1½ ounces Rittenhouse rye

¾ ounce Dolin dry vermouth

¾ ounce Campari

Garnish: 1 lemon twist

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then place it into the drink.

Abbot Kinney

DEVON TARBY, 2015

Although this cocktail is still, it works like a spritz, having a low ABV and enough acidity to be a refreshing palate cleanser when consumed with a meal.

¾ ounce Fords gin

1½ ounces Dolin blanc vermouth

¼ ounce Suze

¼ ounce St-Germain

¼ ounce Fusion Napa Valley verjus blanc

2 dashes Miracle Mile celery bitters

Garnish: 1 celery ribbon

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Twist the celery ribbon into a spiral and balance it on the rim of the glass.

Bamboo

CLASSIC

If there’s one unifying theme among all the Martini variations in this chapter thus far, it’s that they’re very boozy. But here’s an iteration that’s lower in ABV while still reflecting the spirit of the Martini: the classic Bamboo, which swaps out gin for amontillado sherry. Because the sherry is lower in alcohol and not as pungently flavored as gin, the proportion of vermouth is increased to balance the cocktail—the vermouths surround the sherry and add sweetness and depth of flavor. The Bamboo is a very old drink, having originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century, but it remains one of our favorite cocktails today—so much so that we often serve it on tap at our bars.

1½ ounces Lustau Los Arcos amontillado sherry

¾ ounce Dolin blanc vermouth

¾ ounce Dolin dry vermouth

2 dashes House Orange Bitters (this page)

Garnish: 1 lemon twist

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then place it into the drink.

Sonoma

DEVON TARBY, 2015

What would it taste like to drink wine while standing in a Sonoma farm? To answer the question that inspired this riff on the Bamboo, we start with a fruity Chardonnay and add a touch of sweet honey; the bright grapey acidity of verjus; and Calvados, an apple brandy native to Normandy, France, another bucolic agricultural region. Topping it off is a spray of a white pepper aroma, which has the distinct smell of a barn.

2½ ounces dry, unoaked Chardonnay

½ ounce Busnel VSOP Calvados

1 teaspoon Fusion Napa Valley verjus blanc

1 teaspoon Honey Syrup (this page)

1 drop Salt Solution (this page)

Garnish: 4 sprays of White Pepper–Infused Vodka (this page)

Stir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Mist the top of the drink with the infused vodka.

Meyer Lemon Aperitif

ALEX DAY, 2016

A lighter, brighter riff on the Bamboo, this is our take on a root-to-stem cocktail that uses the entire Meyer lemon. We combine the ingredients and infuse the cocktail with the fruit’s fragrant zest, then we use the leftover juice to make a Meyer lemon cordial (this page) that can be made into a carbonated soda and served alongside this cocktail. The recipe below makes about 1 liter—the perfect sophisticated and refreshing aperitif for a party.

12 ounces Lustau Puerto fino sherry

6 ounces Dolin blanc vermouth

6 ounces Dolin dry vermouth

4 ounces Campo de Encanto Moscatel pisco

Zest from 2 Meyer lemons

1¼ ounces Cane Sugar Syrup (this page)

8 dashes House Orange Bitters (this page)

8 ounces water

Garnish: 10 Meyer lemon wheels

Combine half of the sherry, vermouths, pisco, and zest in an iSi whipper (see this page). Following the pressure infusion method explained on this page, infuse the mixture. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining sherry, vermouths, pisco, and zest. Add the syrup, bitters, and water to the mixture and stir to combine, then transfer to a 1-liter bottle. Seal and refrigerate until cold. Serve in chilled coupes (this recipe makes ten drinks), garnished with the Meyer lemon wheels.