The Ingredient That Sets A Black Manhattan Apart From The Original 

The Manhattan has a well-established reputation as one of the classiest of classic cocktails. The formula is simple: two parts whiskey, one part vermouth, and a dash of bitters. Of course, mixologists will argue over ratios and other such details, but the basic Manhattan recipe hasn't changed much since its legendary conception in the 1870s at the Manhattan Club in New York City. However, several fun twists on the iconic drink have gained prominence over the years.

One such variation is the Black Manhattan, a delightfully dusky, deliciously complex cocktail. The key difference between an original and a Black Manhattan is that the latter swaps out the sweet vermouth for Italian amaro. Sweet vermouth is a rosy-toned fortified wine, often with a fruity flavor, while amaro is a dark, bittersweet, botanical liqueur (amaro is Italian for bitter). Swapping the vermouth for amaro gives the drink a delightfully herbaceous quality and its namesake dark color. Another thing that sets a Black Manhattan apart is that it typically calls for orange bitters in addition to the traditional Angostura bitters.

A Black Manhattan is like a tall, dark, and handsome version of a classic Manhattan. The original Manhattan is known for its powerful, alcohol-forward flavor, with slightly bitter and herbal notes thanks to the sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters. Most traditional recipes call for rye whiskey, but some prefer to make bourbon or even rum Manhattans to impart a sweeter flavor.

A Black Manhattan is less sweet than the original, with a citrusy aroma from the orange bitters and stronger herbal and bitter flavors thanks to the amaro. Most Black Manhattan recipes call for Amaro Averna, a bittersweet Sicilian amaro with notes of licorice, orange, and Mediterranean herbs and a smooth, bittersweet aftertaste. However, this isn't a hard and fast requirement — if you can't find Amaro Averna (or simply prefer another option), you can experiment with different kinds of amari and still call the resulting beverage a Black Manhattan in good faith.

The classic Manhattan is well over a century old, but the Black Manhattan has a much more recent origin story. As legend has it, the bittersweet cocktail was invented by a bartender named Todd Smith in San Francisco in 2005. Like all origin stories, this one is probably at least a little bit apocryphal — some versions of the tale claim that Smith conceived of the cocktail at the Bourbon & Branch speakeasy, while others posit that he first mixed it up at the (now closed) Cortez restaurant.

Regardless, somewhere in San Francisco in the early 2000s, Smith decided to swap the sweet vermouth in a classic Manhattan for Amaro Averna, and the Black Manhattan was born. The cocktail is now available in bars across the country, and there are even bottled and non-alcoholic versions. The Black Manhattan is a delightfully bittersweet, herbaceous twist on a classic, and certainly worth a shot.