Black Manhattan cocktail recipe

We love a good cocktail riff, and they don’t come much better than this Black Manhattan. It has all the elegance of the original Manhattan, but it subs out sweet vermouth for the bitter Italian liqueur amaro, which delivers depth and complexity. There are plenty of takes on the Manhattan, but this might just be one of our favourites – and it’s one of the best nightcaps we know.

While the Black Manhattan was invented by mixologist Todd Smith in 2005, the origins of the OG are a little murkier. History places it somewhere between 1874 and 1884, but there’s disagreement over who actually came up with the delicious recipe. The location, of course, was New York City, with the name being an ode to NYC’s famous main island.

Flavour wise, the Black Manhattan is similar to the traditional Manhattan cocktail – super smooth, with notes of cherry and rye. The amaro adds a herbal, spiced element thanks to its many botanicals, which also brings a bitter kick – all while still keeping enough sweetness for it to go down a treat. We told you it was complex. 

Focusing on the amaro in this recipe is arguably more important than the rye whiskey. That said, we recommend going for a sweeter style of whiskey because there’s plenty of spice coming from the liqueur.  Balancing the two ingredients is also important when factoring in the ABV. It can be easy for this cocktail’s alcohol content to creep up if you pair a high-ABV whiskey with a bold amaro, so be sure to consider the two elements together.   

When it comes to choosing an amaro, the options are endless. Just know that you’ll get some pretty different results depending on which amaro you use. If you’re just starting to dabble with this bitter Italian liqueur, you could start with Amaro Montenegro, a crowd-pleasing milder style, but still with a bitter edge. If you’re keen to step things up, Averna is a bold style that brings complexity, body and notes of bright Sicilian lemon, burnt sugar, orange peel, warming clove and cinnamon. Cynar is an artichoke-based amaro (it tastes so much better than it sounds) and this can create a juicier Black Manhattan. Amaro Lucano is another great pick, adding a rounded caramel sweetness to the cocktail, together with bitter notes of gentian and licorice. And if you like the idea of menthol notes, Braulio delivers bitterness through juniper and wormwood notes, but also alpine freshness. Experimentation is key.     

When making this cocktail, don’t be afraid to push the dilution and stir it for a little longer than you might expect. This will allow the drink to open right up, which will give you a juicier and more refreshing result.