Sometimes you just want to go old school and make a classic drink. The Manhattan was said to be created for an event for presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden (remember him?). However, that seems to be debunked. A number of books seem to think that this was created at the same time by a number of bartenders since mixing sweet vermouth in the late 1800s was in the rage.

The classic recipe is a few shots of bitters, and 2:1 whiskey and sweet vermouth. I used Carpano Antica (fancy) and Laceny (my current bourbon of choice) and Bitter Truth’s Jerry Thomas Decanter bitters. The cherry on top (literally) was from Holiday Market. They are now bulk packaging a preserved cherry similar to Luxardo. It does taste different but it beats the pants off those neon red orbs.

Budmo!