Florida Manhattan

About the Florida Manhattan

A rich, full bodied Manhattan gets its Southern roots from Timber Creek’s Florida Whiskey in the Florida Manhattan, stirred with sweet vermouth and a couple dashes of bitters, then strained into a coupe and finished with a cherry. It’s a cocktail with almost no ingredients to hide behind: whiskey, vermouth, and bitters, stirred until cold, so every component has to pull its weight, and the whiskey in particular needs to carry both body and complexity across the whole drink. That’s where Timber Creek’s approach to distilling makes the difference.

Florida Whiskey goes through the distillery’s proprietary PureBlend process, in which each grain is distilled separately and aged in its own individual barrel before being blended together by component, rather than distilled from a single mash bill from the start. The result is a whiskey with more layered flavor, grain sweetness, gentle spice, and a rounded finish, all of which come through clearly in a stirred, spirit forward cocktail like a Manhattan, where a flatter whiskey would leave the drink one dimensional. To build it, stir the whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters together with ice for a good thirty seconds, long enough to properly chill and slightly dilute the mix, then strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Garnish with a good quality cocktail cherry, dropped in rather than skewered on a pick for the classic presentation. Stirring, not shaking, is essential here; shaking would over dilute and cloud what should be a clear, silky drink. This is a special occasion cocktail, well matched to a dinner as substantial as beef Wellington or a side of truffle fries, where its richness holds its own against equally rich food.

It suits a celebratory dinner, an anniversary, or any evening where the cocktail deserves as much attention as the meal. A Manhattan is meant to be savored slowly, so take your time and drink responsibly.

A rich, full bodied Manhattan gets its Southern roots from Timber Creek’s Florida Whiskey in the Florida Manhattan, stirred with sweet vermouth and a couple dashes of bitters, then strained into a coupe and finished with a cherry. It’s a cocktail with almost no ingredients to hide behind: whiskey, vermouth, and bitters, stirred until cold, so every component has to pull its weight, and the whiskey in particular needs to carry both body and complexity across the whole drink. That’s where Timber Creek’s approach to distilling makes the difference.

Florida Whiskey goes through the distillery’s proprietary PureBlend process, in which each grain is distilled separately and aged in its own individual barrel before being blended together by component, rather than distilled from a single mash bill from the start. The result is a whiskey with more layered flavor, grain sweetness, gentle spice, and a rounded finish, all of which come through clearly in a stirred, spirit forward cocktail like a Manhattan, where a flatter whiskey would leave the drink one dimensional. To build it, stir the whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters together with ice for a good thirty seconds, long enough to properly chill and slightly dilute the mix, then strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Garnish with a good quality cocktail cherry, dropped in rather than skewered on a pick for the classic presentation. Stirring, not shaking, is essential here; shaking would over dilute and cloud what should be a clear, silky drink. This is a special occasion cocktail, well matched to a dinner as substantial as beef Wellington or a side of truffle fries, where its richness holds its own against equally rich food.

It suits a celebratory dinner, an anniversary, or any evening where the cocktail deserves as much attention as the meal. A Manhattan is meant to be savored slowly, so take your time and drink responsibly.