Cooking Lesson #325: Manhattan Cocktail & Homemade Maraschino Cherries

…from the Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? It’s Friday--Happy Hour recipe time on the Survival Guide. I wanted to offer something memorable and these recipes are perfect for accomplishing that mission. The drink is the Manhattan Cocktail—a simple mixed drink that satisfies. The garnish is Homemade Maraschino Cherries—something that is perfect for preserving the fleeting summer harvest of sour cherries in a boozy bath of sweet liqueur.
 
Popular history suggests that the Manhattan Cocktail originated at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the mid-1870s, where it was invented by Iain Marshall for a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston) in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden.
 
The difference between a Manhattan and an Old Fashioned is that an Old Fashioned is made with whiskey (bourbon or rye), bitters and sugar; a Manhattan is traditionally made with American rye whiskey and substitutes sweet vermouth for the sugar. A "Perfect Manhattan" adds yet another twist—half sweet vermouth and half dry vermouth.
 
                                                                  Manhattan Cocktail
 
While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskies include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey.
 
Ingredients 
2 ounces American rye or Canadian whiskey,
3/4 ounces sweet red vermouth
Dash Angostura bitters
1 maraschino cherry, garnish (homemade cherry recipe to follow)
 
Directions

1. In a mixing glass, pour the ingredients over ice and mix well.
2. Strained them into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish, and serve straight up.

 
                                       Homemade Maraschino Cherries

The sickest I’ve ever been was at a Boy Scout camp where I was working as a cook’s assistant. I found the Maraschino Cherry Bowl in the back of the walk-in and proceeded to finish about a pound of them. I paid for it over the next 3 days. When I looked at the ingredient declaration, I was surprised at how many ingredients were not familiar to me… one was—formaldehyde--used for embalming dead pithed frogs and over-indulgent cook’s assistants. I felt like I was going to die and wished I had. The solution—make your own Maraschino Cherries.
 
The secret to cinching this recipe, is finding and pitting fresh sour cherries. Sour cherries are more tart, fragile and complex than their sweeter cousins. They also have a particularly short growing season. While frozen sour cherries hold up beautifully for baked desserts like pies and crumbles, they don’t work for “maraschino-ing” cherries—fresh tart cherries yield superior results.
 
To preserve the shape of both the maraschino cherries and your sanity, get a cherry pitter (available at your local market or Amazon) before you begin. Save some of the pits to perfume the boozy soaking liquid with their almondy aroma.
 
Prep time: 1 hour
Yield: about Nine (9) 8-oz. Jars.
 
Ingredients 
4-1/2 pounds (about 11 cups) sour cherries, stemmed and pitted (pits reserved)
1 750-mL bottle Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
 
Instructions

1. Prep nine 8-ounce mason glass jars by washing them thoroughly, then drying on a large baking sheet set in the center of a 250°F oven.
2. When dry, remove them from the oven and set aside (they do not need to be hot for canning).
3. Wash the lids and bands and set them aside to dry at room temperature. Keep the oven on.
4. In a stockpot over medium-high heat, combine the cherries and liqueur.
5. Bring just to a boil, then immediately remove from heat.
6. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pitted cherries into the reserved jars until there’s about a half-inch of space left in each (don’t overpack the jars—there may be some leftover cherries).
7. Add 3–5 pits per jar, then pour the remaining liqueur into each jar just to cover the cherries, once again leaving about a half-inch of space.
8. While the cherries are still hot, cover the jars with the lids and screw the bands fully onto the jars so they are tight, but not so tight you need strong hands to reopen.
9. Return the jars to the baking sheet, transfer to the oven, and heat for 15 minutes.
10. Remove the jars from the oven and set aside to cool to room temperature. Check the seals as they cool. If any don’t seal, use those jars first. (The alcohol content will delay spoilage, but processing to seal will ensure that the cherries last longer.)
11. You can use immediately or store in a cool dark place for up to 1 year. Store opened jars in the fridge.

 
ChefSecrets:  Luxardo has become the gold standard of maraschino liqueurs, so much so that it's uncommon to see a bar without a bottle on a shelf. Luxardo is an Italian liqueur that comes wrapped in an unmistakable straw jacket. It is an authentic maraschino made with an 1821 dated recipe using the Marasca cherry. It is aged for two years in Finnish oak vats. What does Luxardo taste like, you ask? It's sticky and sweet, but it has layers—a hint of alcohol burn, some vanilla and almond sweetness in the background of the cherry fruit and a slight bitter back note that's like licking a cherry pit.

Quip of the Day: “Some days the supply of curse words is not sufficient for the situation.”
-------------------------------------------
Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com.  All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. 
-------------------------------------------
To you and everyone dear to you, be strong and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.


#Cocktail #HappyHour #Manhattan #Rye #Whiskey #MaraschinoCherries #Luxardo #SummerCocktail #Cheers #QuarantineKitchen #Covid19 #FeedingAmerica #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                             ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

---