A Tale of Two Manhattans

I've really gotten into Manhattans lately, and the classic cocktail is an ideal drink for winter, made with the ruddy warmth of rye whiskey and modified by the bitter-sweet flavors of sweet vermouth and bitters. At least that's how it works traditionally, as in the Manhattan I made during my cocktail bitters week last summer. The nice thing about a Manhattan is that its simple formula presents a lot of room for experimentation. In the Death & Co book I discussed yesterday, for example, there are 13 variations on the Manhattan, including drinks made with rum, pisco and even tequila.

Browsing through the PDT Cocktail Book looking for a good drink, I happened upon the two Manhattan variations on page 105: the Deshler, made with orange liqueur, and the Dewey D., made with sherry and Aperol. I couldn't decide which sounded better, so I made both. And liked both. The Dewey D. is the stronger of the two, since it has more whiskey and the sweetness of the cointreau mellows the Deshler more. But I love the use of Aperol, my favorite Italian aperitif, in a Manhattan.

Deshler
Adapted from a classic 1916 recipe by Hugo Enslin in the PDT Cocktail Book

1 1/2 oz. rye whiskey
1 oz. sweet vermouth
1/4 oz. Cointreau
2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
Orange twist garnish

Combine whiskey, sweet vermouth, Cointreau and bitters in a cocktail mixing glass with ice. Stir until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with orange twist.

Dewey D.
Adapted from a recipe by Don Lee in the PDT Cocktail Book

2 oz. rye whiskey
3/4 oz. East India Sherry (lacking this, I substituted Amontillado Sherry)
1/2 oz. Aperol
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Orange twist garnish

Combine whiskey, sherry, Aperol and bitters in a cocktail mixing glass with ice. Stir until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with orange twist.