A Chocolate Manhattan Is The Perfect Way To Enhance The Classic Bourbon Cocktail

Maybe you're a cocktail lover with a flair for the sweeter side of the spectrum, but a daiquiri just sounds like overkill today. Or, maybe you're an outspoken member of the "sugary drinks aren't real cocktails" camp ... but you've increasingly found yourself straying from the elitist path, or at least questioning. Can spirit-forward purists enjoy a taste of something sweet from time to time without betraying the bevy dogma? Look no further than this Manhattan variation. The time has come to up the complexity even further and give this timeless beauty a modern facelift. Enter: The chocolate Manhattan.

To make a chocolate Manhattan, simply swap the Angostura for chocolate bitters. A classic Manhattan combines 2:1 whiskey and sweet vermouth, plus two dashes of Angostura bitters. To assemble, all the ingredients are stirred with ice, then strained into a chilled coupe glass, or over ice in a rocks glass. Some mixologists prefer rye whiskey, others prefer bourbon, and some even combine equal parts of both. It's your party, baby. Although, bourbon would complement the sweeter confectionery notes in the chocolate bitters more aptly than whiskey for this option.

The alcohol content in bourbon highlights chocolate's aromatic qualities, and the chocolate lends its high-fat content to counterbalance the punchiness of the bourbon for a smooth, rounded sip. On a chemical level, both bourbon and chocolate share compounds such as vanillin, lactones, tannins, and acetylpyrrole, making them a naturally fitting pairing from the molecules upward.

With this single-ingredient swap, the interplay of the chocolate bitters and the vermouth makes for a welcome, mature sweetness to offset the smokiness of the bourbon. Match rich, bittersweet chocolate bitters with a sweet, full-bodied bourbon like Four Roses Single Barrel, Maker's Mark 46, or Woodford Reserve Double Oaked. For the most cohesive flavor profile, opt for a smooth, rich, viscous sweet vermouth like Strucchi Rosso or Carpano Antica Formula.

To finish a classic Manhattan, the rim of the glass is rubbed with an expressed orange twist, which is discarded, and replaced with a brandied maraschino cherry to garnish. For extra chocolatey depth and an impressive presentation on your Manhattan variation, you could skip the orange peel express around the rim and instead rim half of the glass with honey and unsweetened cocoa powder.

Now, onto the star ingredient: The chocolate bitters. For the truest straightforward "chocolatey" flavor, you can't go wrong with the chocolate flavor from Scrappy's Bitters with toasted cacao nibs and oak. For a bold spiced undertone, the dimensional chocolate bitters from The Bitter Truth (one of our favorite bitters brands here at Tasting Table) lean deep with dark chocolate, cocoa butter, vanilla, gentian, and wormwood. For a slightly spicy finish, try the cacao and pepper-infused Aztec Chocolate Bitters by Fee Brothers or Xocolatl Mole Bitters by Bittermen's, a Sazerac brand. These ones work great alongside aged bourbon.