Stirred Rye Manhattan with Homemade Brandied Cherries

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A cocktail-bar Manhattan built the way a good bartender does it: high-rye whiskey and fresh sweet vermouth stirred cold and silky over big ice, split bitters for depth, and a real brandied cherry instead of the neon kind. The cherries take fifteen minutes on the stove and keep for months, so the drink itself is a ninety-second pour.

Ingredients

• 2 oz rye whiskey, ideally 95–100 proof
• 1 oz sweet (rosso) vermouth, fresh and refrigerated
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 dash orange bitters
• 1 barspoon syrup from the brandied cherries (optional, for a rounder drink)
• 2 cups large, hard ice cubes for stirring
• 1 brandied cherry, plus a little syrup
• 1 strip orange peel, for expressing (optional)

• 12 oz sweet dark cherries, fresh and pitted or frozen
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
• 1 strip lemon peel
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brandy or Cognac
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Make the cherries first (at least 1 day ahead, ideally a week). In a small saucepan, combine the water, granulated sugar, brown sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, cinnamon stick and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the cherries, reduce the heat to low, and cook at a bare simmer for 5 minutes for fresh cherries or 7 minutes for frozen — just until they slump slightly and the syrup turns deep red. Do not boil hard, or they will collapse into jam.
3. Remove from the heat and let the pan sit for 10 minutes, until the syrup drops below 140°F (steam stops rising). Stir in the brandy and vanilla off the heat so the alcohol doesn't cook away. Transfer everything, syrup and cinnamon stick included, to a clean pint jar; cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 24 hours. They keep 6 months chilled and only get better.
4. Chill your glass. Put a Nick & Nora or small coupe in the freezer for 10 minutes, or fill it with ice and water while you build the drink.
5. Build the cocktail. In a mixing glass, combine the rye, sweet vermouth, Angostura, orange bitters, and the barspoon of cherry syrup if using. Fill the mixing glass about three-quarters full with large, hard ice cubes — big cubes chill without over-diluting.
6. Stir smoothly with a barspoon for 30 to 40 seconds, keeping the spoon against the inside wall of the glass so the ice turns rather than crashes. Stop when the outside of the mixing glass is uncomfortably cold and frosted; the drink should be around 20°F and have gained roughly 3/4 oz of water.
7. Dump the ice and water from your serving glass and dry it. Strain the cocktail through a julep or fine strainer into the chilled glass — it should come nearly to the rim, about 3 1/2 oz.
8. Garnish: if using the orange peel, hold it skin-side down 2 inches above the surface, pinch to spray the oils across the drink, wipe it once around the rim, then discard it (or drop it in if you like a citrus-forward Manhattan). Drop in one brandied cherry with a few drops of its syrup and serve immediately, no ice.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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