A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskies include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey. The cocktail is usually stirred with ice then strained into a chilled cocktail glass and garnished traditionally with a maraschino cherry. A Manhattan may also be served on the rocks in a lowball glass.
Vermouth is an aromatized fortified wine, flavoured with various botanicals and sometimes colored. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid to late 18th century in Turin, Italy. While vermouth was traditionally used for medicinal purposes, it was later served as an apéritif, with fashionable cafés in Turin serving it to guests around the clock. In the late 19th century, it became popular with bartenders as a key ingredient for cocktails, such as the martini, the Manhattan, the Rob Roy, and the Negroni. In addition to being consumed as an aperitif or cocktail ingredient, vermouth is sometimes used as an alternative to white wine in cooking.
A bitters is traditionally an alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a bitter or bittersweet flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters were developed as patent medicines, but now are sold as digestifs, sometimes with herbal properties, and as cocktail flavorings.
Amaretto is a sweet Italian liqueur originating from the comune (municipality) of Saronno. Depending on the brand, it may be made from apricot kernels, bitter almonds, peach stones, or almonds, all of which are natural sources of the benzaldehyde that provides the almond-like flavour of the liqueur. It generally contains 21 to 28 percent alcohol by volume.
Apéritifs and digestifs are drinks, typically alcoholic, that are normally served before (apéritif) or after (digestif) a meal respectively.
Campari is an Italian alcoholic liqueur, considered an apéritif, of the amaro variety, obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. It is a type of bitters, characterised by its dark red colour. It is produced by the Davide Campari Group, a multinational company based in Italy.
Becherovka, formerly Karlsbader Becherbitter, is a herbal bitters, often drunk as a digestif. It is produced in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic by the Jan Becher company. The brand is owned by Pernod Ricard. It is made from a secret recipe based on more than twenty types of herbs and spices.
Cynar is an Italian bitter apéritif of the amaro variety. It is made from 13 herbs and plants, predominant among which is the artichoke, from which the drink derives its name. Cynar is dark brown, has a bittersweet flavor, and its strength is 16.5% alc/vol. It was launched in Italy in 1952. A version with 35% ABV, called Cynar 70 Proof, became available in the 2010s.
Fernet is an Italian type of amaro, a bitter, aromatic spirit. Fernet is made from a number of herbs and spices which vary according to the brand, but usually include myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom, aloe, and especially saffron, with a base of distilled grape spirits.
Kräuterlikör is a type of liqueur that is flavored with herbs or spices and traditionally drunk neat as a digestif, very close to the concept of an italian amaro.
Zucca is a commercial Italian aperitif. Although zucca is the Italian word for "squash" or "pumpkin", it actually takes its name after Zucca's bar, located in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. Its base ingredient is in fact rhubarb, also combined with zest, cardamom seeds and other curative herbs. The liqueur has a delicate and pleasant bittersweet taste and is often mixed with soda water and ice.
Fernet Stock is a herbal bitters made in Plzeň, Czech Republic. It is flavoured with approximately 14 herbs, imported from the Mediterranean and the Alps. It is also available in a sweeter form as Fernet Stock Citrus. The original Fernet is approximately 40% alcohol, whereas the Citrus is a lower 30%.
Amaro Averna is an Italian liqueur in the amaro category produced in Caltanissetta, Italy. It is named after its inventor, Salvatore Averna, who invented the recipe in 1868. This drink is produced on the Island of Sicily and is considered a traditional drink. The Averna company was acquired in 2014 by Gruppo Campari.
Fernet-Branca is an Italian brand of fernet, a style of amaro or bitters. It was formulated in Milan in 1845, and is manufactured there by Fratelli Branca Distillerie.
Zwack is a Budapest, Hungary-based company that makes liqueurs and spirits. The company produces an 80 U.S. proof herbal liqueur known as Unicum from a secret blend of more than forty different herbs and spices. Unicum is known as one of the national drinks of Hungary.
Fratelli Branca is a distillery based in Milan, Italy, that was founded in 1845. Fratelli Branca makes an amaro digestif, Fernet-Branca.
Gran Classico Bitter is an alcoholic apéritif/digestif created following the "Italian Bitter of Turin" recipe dating from the 1860s. This recipe, which was originally produced under the name Torino Gran Classico, had been purchased in 1925 from a Turin-based distillery by the small Swiss distillery E. Luginbühl, located near Bern.
Amaro Lucano is an Italian herbal liqueur in the amaro category. It is produced by Amaro Lucano S.p.A., a family-owned company based in Pisticci, Basilicata, Italy. The adjective "Lucano" comes from Lucania, another name for Basilicata.
Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto is a bergamot rosolio manufactured in Italy. The liqueur uses bergamot from Calabria and citrons from Sicily, along with Italian flower varieties. Italicus was created by an Italian bartender, Giuseppe Gallo, using a family recipe. He launched the spirit commercially in September 2016.
