Manhattan Recipe Made With Rum

Old Fashioned and Manhattan variations have long been my mainstay when it comes to late-night drinking, but recently I've been on a rum kick, experimenting with rums from different origins and blending different styles to produce a smooth, complex drink.

This cocktail came about somewhat by chance from a late night hang at Silver Lining, a new cocktail bar in NYC's Tribeca and a sister bar of Little Branch and Milk & Honey. After sipping some of the bar's coveted Sea Wynde Jamaican Rum (a rich, small-batch rum, combining pure pot-stilled spirits from both Jamaica and Guyana), I reached for a bottle of equally rich Pedro Ximenex Sherry we had just opened. (Edit: Need a rum suggestion? Here's our guide.)

After a little stir of ice in a rocks glass, we were delighted by our enticing discovery. Joseph Schwartz, owner of Silver Lining, later improved the drink by adding a ¼ ounce of Amaro ChiCharo—giving a little bitterness and complexity to temper the richness of the drink. No garnish has been deemed necessary, as of yet.

Given the limited quantity of Sea Wynde Rum available, we tentatively titled this concoction in a discrete and humorous manner. Even without having Sea Wynde Rum available, one could likely use a substitute blend of El Dorado 12 and Smith & Cross rums in the recipe, which would hopefully produce a similarly pleasing drink.

In either case, this drink underscores the versatility of rum and my sentiment that many whiskey-lovers should explore more in the cane-based spirit realm. As with most spirits, experimenting can typically start with combining two-parts base spirit with one-part modifier (comprised of one or more components) to compliment each other in the drink. Give it a stir with a good chunk of ice and enjoy the results.