This sweet Cherry Manhattan cocktail recipe perfectly blends the warmth of bourbon with the sweetness of vermouth and cherries. A sublime cocktail to wind down your day.
With the holidays swirling around us sometimes we need an easy and lovely cocktail to lead us out of our hectic day and into the evening. A wonderful, classic is the Manhattan.
This recipe sweetens it up a bit, THE Cherry Manhattan. There is something about the warmth of the bourbon and the sweetness of the vermouth and cherry juice that makes this a perfect holiday and winter time drink.
How to Make a Manhattan
Choose your glass. Classically the Manhattan is served up in a cocktail glass, however, you can also serve this in an old-fashioned glass over ice, if you prefer.
This is an alcohol forward drink and the ice will cut the alcohol somewhat as it melts. So if you aren't used to drinking whiskey cocktails or if you're in for a long night of cocktails and wine with dinner, serving it over ice might be the right choice.
Choose your liquor, do you want bourbon or rye? I prefer bourbon for this drink as it's a little sweeter.
I like to use gourmet cherries instead of maraschino cherries. These Chukar Cherries dessert cherries are my favorite. It's a small Seattle company with delicious cherry products!
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These Italian Amarena Cherries are also delicious in cocktails.
If I have cherry juice in the fridge, I use that. If not, then I use ⅔ part of the syrup from the cherries and cut it with ⅓ part water.
Mix the bourbon, vermouth, cherry juice and bitters in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled.
Pour into your coupe or martini glass and garnish with an orange peel and cherry.
Cheers!
Can this Cocktail be Made Ahead of Time?
Yes! Mix up a pitcher of these and refrigerate. Shake as many as needed with ice when ready to serve.
This is a beautiful holiday cocktail, but be sure you aren't driving! It's pretty strong!
Other Delicious Cocktail Recipes
- Whiskey Swirl Cocktail
- Kombucha Whiskey Sour Recipe
- Delicious Pumpkin Martini
- Paper Plane #2 Recipe
- Margaritas with a Kick!
- A Thyme Martini Recipe
- A Rosé Cocktail Recipe
THE Cherry Manhattan
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bourbon or rye whiskey, bourbon is sweeter than rye
- 4 ounces sweet vermouth
- 2 ½ ounces dessert cherry juice or cherry syrup, If you use the syrup from the cherries, use ⅔ syrup and ⅓ water.
- 5-6 dashes Angostura bitters
- 4 dessert cherries, with stem, we like Chukar Cherries.
- 4 pieces orange zest, 1" x ½" (This is easy to do ahead of time with a potato peeler.)
Instructions
- In a pitcher mix the bourbon, sweet vermouth, cherry juice and bitters.
- When ready to serve, put some ice in a martini shaker.
- Add one or two servings of the bourbon mixture.
- Shake gently to chill. (If you are serving over ice, you can eliminate this part.)
- Pour into a coupe or martini glass.
- Garnish with one piece of orange zest twisted over each drink and one cherry each.
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