Black Manhattan – Dark, Mysterious Averna!

Black Manhattan

I have been alternately sipping and staring into this deep, brooding, dark Black Manhattan cocktail for 30 minutes now and yet I still don’t know what I want to say about it. Its gravity pulls in all my thoughts and will not let any of them escape.

This deep, dark drink has got to be a metaphor for something going on in my life right now. I just can’t think of what it is as even that thought cannot escape its grasp. And it was all too easy! To make this Black Manhattan all I had to do is substitute Averna, a thick, sweet Italian amaro liqueur (with great bitter herbal notes ) for the sweet vermouth called for in a classic Manhattan. This simple switcheroo alters the cocktail’s usual smooth character and takes it towards a deeper, darker, more complex place.

Oh how I wish all outputs from the cannibalization of classic cocktail recipes with ingredient modifications would bring about results like this! I’m talking about you vodka martini.  Blech. Yeah, ok, even though some modified cocktail versions are good,  the classics are classics for a reason and I will always prefer them — tonight’s tipple however, all dressed up in its black mourning clothes, has a particular meaning for me tonight. If only it would let me know it.

These last few weeks have been particularly tough ones so despite my natural inclination towards the positive and cheerful, my mood lately has been as dark with sadness as this cocktail has been made dark in color with its combination of Averna and bourbon.

In this last month we said goodbye to a dear friend, her tenacious fight to hang onto a life that had already decided to reject her had finally ended.  Shortly thereafter news arrived that another good friend had voluntarily given his life away. Two funerals in the same week.  I haven’t attended funerals so back-to-back since… well, that time in the 80’s when gay funerals were the new brunch.

Oh gosh!  Please don’t fret about me!  Lest this post get even more maudlin than I had intended,  let me assure you that I find it perfectly acceptable to feel sad.  It’s just as much a part of life as laughter.  I accept this without question.  Please don’t be concerned. Without sadness, laughter just wouldn’t be as joyful, and I wouldn’t have the same warm feeling of gratitude that always follows it.  It is possible to feel two emotions at once — one will make the other more acute… before it cures it.

So if you don’t mind, please don’t ask me to ‘snap out of it’ or ‘go outside and exercise’. These are distractions and they never cure my brand sadness.  Whatever you do don’t tell me to smile because I don’t feel like it, yet. I’ll be just fine. This Black Manhattan will see to that. You’ll see. Of course alcohol (if used responsibly) can help too.

Which leads me once again back to the Black Manhattan…

Truthfully, if I am to be honest with you, it leads me back to my second Black Manhattan.  So despite my earlier uncertainty regarding what it was I wanted to tell you about this drink, I know now I can at least say unequivocally that this drink is worth a second go-round. Perhaps you’ve already realized that if you make it to the end of my post you could find out if the Black Manhattan will merit a third?  (By the time anyone chooses a third cocktail he or she is no longer choosing it for reasons of its taste alone. Can we all agree on that?

In the meantime, warranting a second is still something of an achievement, at any rate.

G’night. (Is it hot in here?)

Black Manhattan

Black Manhattan

Black Manhattan

Black Manhattan

This is what you will need:

  • 2 ounces bourbon, I prefer Michter's. A drink this deep requires a bourbon with significant history.
  • 1 ounce Averna (or any another Italian “amaro” you prefer)
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters or go get crazy and do 1 dash Angostura bitters and 1 dash orange bitters.
  • garnish with Luxardo cherries — or something darker.

This is how you make it:

  1. Combine first three ingredients in an ice filled cocktail shaker or glass.
  2. Shake or mix well to chill and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
  3. Garnish with cherries. Brood and think.
https://sisboomblog.com/black-manhattan/

Draw the drapes, turn off the lights, and enjoy the darkness.

About Trevor Kensey

I don't know what “Sis. Boom. [blog!]" means either. But, if a post makes even a small 'boom' in your day, I would be happy. Please don't call me a "foodie", or even a food blogger. I prefer "food raconteur" thank you very much.
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  1. Sorry things are bleak, black, and sad. A good wallow always helps the process along.

  2. What you say about sadness is something that doesn’t get honoured much in our culture. I’m sorry there’s been so much grief for you lately. Take care.

  3. I completely agree. Being told to “cheer up” is just about the most insulting thing anyone can say to another person who is feeling real grief and sadness. Have a drink, however, is entirely appropriate. What a smart cocktail you’ve made, and then you’ve put it to such good use. January is the worst month for me, and I believe I will indulge in a Black Manhattan (or three) this weekend.

  4. Grief is such a personal thing – I don’t think anyone else but the person going through it can determine the length, depth or expression of it. Sometimes life just sucks and people need to us work through it in our own way.
    Down a drink, kick a wall – whatever it takes to help you find your peace – when you are ready to find it. Wishing you well.

  5. I’m sorry to hear you’ve been having a rough time of it lately, Trevor, but what you say is true. We all should feel things, not brush them aside and paint on a happy face.

    I do want to tell you that I looked at your photos and am just blown away. You truly have a gift. Your food photos are always great, but your artistic photos are truly inspired! And your cat is gorgeous. BTW, Braveheart is a trooper – running up & down stairs and enjoying the garden again.

  6. Beautiful post Trevor, love your photos and the mood they capture. I would love to try a Black Manhattan in such a lovely stemmed glass;-)

  7. Beautiful way to capture your mood and the libation. Cheers. Here’s to old friendships and new ones.

  8. I need to get the ingredients for this on my way home!

  9. Beautiful. I am thinking this is just the thing to get me through my remodel…

  10. My suggestion, smoke the glass. This takes it to another level of dark delicious complexity.

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