We know beer goes well with chili, but guess what will make a spoonful of chili get up and dance…bourbon! Even better — a Smoked Manhattan, combining bourbon with sweet vermouth, a little rye and bitters, served over ice. When we asked our chief cocktail contributor Anthony DeSerio to create something that would be the ideal pairing with beef, tomatoes, chili powder, and spices — in any combination — within an hour he’d invented this fabulous cocktail. One sip after a taste of Chris Prosperi’s chili and let me tell you…it’s smokin.’ — FM
The smoked hickory Manhattan is actually a hickory smoked glass. Hickory boards/planks are available at local kitchen stores or online. Here's how to smoke the glass: Hold a Brule torch to the board far enough away to get it red hot and smoking. To capture the smoke, just place the glass over the smoking spot while assembling the cocktail.
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The smoked hickory Manhattan is actually a hickory smoked glass. Hickory boards/planks are available at local kitchen stores or online. Here's how to smoke the glass: Hold a Brule torch to the board far enough away to get it red hot and smoking. To capture the smoke, just place the glass over the smoking spot while assembling the cocktail.
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Ingredients
- 3 oz. rye whiskey (Chris also smoked a Rittenhouse rye for the show)
- 1 oz. Carpano Antica Formula sweet vermouth
- 3- 4 dashes Angostura bitters
Servings: cocktail
Instructions
- In a mixing glass, combine the above ingredients and add ice. Stir (never shake a Manhattan) and strain into your smoked glass.
- Garnish with an orange zest.
Is it carpene or carpano antica vermouth? Thx!
Carpene, and it’s terrific!
Cheers,
Faith
Thinking it’s actually carano antica….🙂
Thanks!
Very excited to try this. Does the heat from the plank damage the surface of the bar where you’re heating it up? Please advise, and thank you!
It shouldn’t. But, whenever you’re dealing with smoke and fire, common sense rules the day. Be cautious; treat a hot plank as you would a hot pan.
How many times can one side of a plank be used?
You can use a plank more than once, but move to a fresh (unblackened) part of the wood each time until you run out of “unsmoked” spots. Make sense?
Can a cedar plank be used?
I’m not sure, Ron; we used a hickory plank to flavor our glass with smoke. I’m not sure cedar would impart a pleasant smoky flavor, but if you’re looking for alternatives to hickory, I’ve seen quite a few cocktails infused with smoke from oak, pecan, cherrywood chips, applewood chips, or maple (usually a plank, as we did with the hickory). You could also gather smoke for your glass simply by burning a bit of rosemary (no planks necessary!). . .but do be careful when flames and smoke are involved, of course.