Name: Black Manhattan
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 30 ml Amaro (e.g. Averna); 1 dash Aromatic bitters; 1 dash Orange bitters

Black Manhattan
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Glass:

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
1 oz	Amaro (e.g. Averna)
1 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters
1 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish:

Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A classic Manhattan with amaro in place of sweet vermouth. Heavier in style and with distinctive bitter chocolate and light spice.

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 2015 by Todd Smith at Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco, USA.

See: Manhattan cocktail history

More cocktails by Todd Smith

Nutrition:

One serving of Black Manhattan contains 231 calories

Alcohol content:

2.2 standard drinks
33.87% alc./vol. (67.75° proof)
30.7 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 10 of 29 comments for Black Manhattan.
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Kevin Vinson

11th February at 21:48

Anyone got a tip on where one might find the cute Luxardo branded cocktail sticks (as pictured)? I've got nice stainless ones, but having something fun and recyclable/disposable would be a nice addition to larger size cocktail parties (and a step up from cheesy colored toothpicks).

John CARR

10th February at 16:26

Quite the intense experience this one! Based on the comments I made it 2/3 and ended up also adding half a spoon of jar juice to aid approachability. Perhaps a longer stir would help, or a lighter rye. Not sure I’ll hurry back, but neither did I hate it.

Calvin Grant

9th February at 03:07

This is fantastic with Cynar 70! Gave it a long stir and added a couple of cubes to the serve as it was rather potent.♡

Kevin Haynes

24th January at 23:04

I think I like this more than a sweet vermouth based drink. And yes, adding a little of the cherry syrup from the luxardo cherries helped I believe!

Juniper Lately

24th October 2025 at 21:48

Found this a little punchy for my mood this evening (could be the rye I’m using) so I added 20 ml of sweet vermouth for a more Manhattan-y feel. Very nice. And I agree whole heartedly with the previous comment - a little syrup from Jack Rudy’s bourbon cherries also helped.

Mephisto

11th October 2025 at 05:39

A dash of Amarena cherries syrup on this cocktail make it a great twist.

Miguel Perales

24th August 2025 at 22:29

A very complimentary cocktail. Slightly sweet at the start but quickly switches/finishes with the spiciness of the rye.

John Hinojos

13th April 2025 at 00:30

Wanting to make this a little drier, we backed off the Amaro by 1/3. Very flavourful.

Darren Companion

5th December 2024 at 22:34

Tried it with Montenegro amaro and was pleasantly surprised! Having a pre-chilled cocktail glass and using a hot rye is a must.

Doug Charnock

21st November 2024 at 01:48

Very nice Manhattan variation as written, but at 2.2 standard drinks I’ll probably make 1 or 1 1/2 of them next time for the evening cocktail for two. Always good to find a really nice two (not counting bitters) ingredient cocktail.

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