Midnight Manhattan | Pendleton® Midnight

By Julia Ritz Toffoli

While Natalie was sipping on her Pendleton® Midnight across the country in Oregon, I was in New York, sipping on my own dram of Midnight, and thinking that I’d be remiss if I didn’t try it out in my all-time favorite cocktail to experiment with: a Manhattan.

After all, us east coast city girls need to have our own passions to keep us busy without any rodeos around!

In sipping the spirit, I got a lot of the same tasting notes as Natalie - vanilla, cake batter, a hint of baking spice - so I wanted to opt for a creative variation of a Manhattan that would highlight these tasty flavors. That said, a Manhattan isn’t the easiest drink to experiment with, since the three-ingredient list limits what you can do with it. With the whisky already decided (Pendleton® Midnight) and the vermouth determined by what I had on the bar (Dolin Rouge) the only variable I could play with was the choice of bitters.

My first personal foray into the transformative power of bitters (beyond the numerous concoctions served to me by talented bartenders) was actually with Natalie a few years ago. We were visiting the Museum of the American Cocktail (highly recommend!), inside the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans, where I discovered Love Potion No. 9 bitters, an herbal, floral blend that I carried around in my purse for the rest of the vacation to gussy up my $4 happy hour vodka sodas.

Since then, I’ve been on a bitters kick, collecting all kinds of interesting flavors beyond your standard Angostura and Peychaud’s (both preferred for a classic Manhattan). Enter Fee Brothers Cardamom Bitters, the perfect complement to the baking spice notes in the Pendleton® Midnight. Topped off with an authentic Amarena Toschi black cherry, it was the perfect cocktail for this Manhattan girl.

Midnight Manhattan

• 2 oz of Pendleton® Midnight
• ¾ oz Dolin Rouge Vermouth
• 5-7 dashes of Fee Brothers Cardamom Bitters

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass over ice, and stir gently for a minute or so. Strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a cherry or two.

Cocktail prep

Woodford Reserve Series No. 3: Rye Manhattan Cake

 Woodford Rye Manhattan Cake

Woodford Reserve’s Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey is crafted from a mash bill that is 53% rye, lending to spice notes of rye, black pepper, & clove. There is a subtle lingering sweetness of molasses and honey at the finish.

I have created a Rye Manhattan Cake using this delicious spirit based on a Rum cake recipe that my grandmother used to make!

Note, the whiskey is not cooked out of this cake, so enjoy responsibly!

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 c. dried Tart Cherries + ½ c. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur ***
• 1 (18.25 oz.) pkg. Golden Butter Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 (3.4 oz.) pkg. Instant French Vanilla Pudding Mix (you can also use Butterscotch)
• 4 Eggs
• ½ c. Milk
• 1 stick Butter, melted
• ½ c. Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

            Glaze:

• 1 stick Butter
• 1 c. White Sugar
• 1 tbsp. Water
• 2 tbsp. Sweet Vermouth
• 2 tbsp. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 1 tsp. Angostura Bitters
• ½ c. Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

Directions:

Cake:

*** 1. Add ½ c. of Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur to the 1 c. of Tart Cherries. If you have the time, let the cherries sit in the liqueur overnight to soak up the liqueur, if not, throw the cherries & liqueur in the microwave for ~1 minute.

2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

3. Grease and flour the Bundt pan.

4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk Yellow Cake Mix, French Vanilla Pudding Mix, Eggs, Milk, melted Butter, & ½ c. Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey. Combine until batter is well blended, either by hand, or with electric mixer.

5. Pour the Luxardo Cherries evenly into the bottom of the floured Bundt pan.

6. Pour the batter on top of the cherries; tap the Bundt pan on the counter to get rid of air bubbles and even out the batter in the pan.

7. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for ~55-60 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the cake, if the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done.

8. Once cake is ready, remove from the oven and let cool for ~10 min (prepare the glaze while the cake is cooling). After cooling, place a cake plate over the top of the Bundt pan and turn the pan upside down on to the cake plate. Let the Bundt pan sit for a couple minutes on the cake plate to loosen the cake and allow it to release from Bundt pan. Remove Bundt pan in order to glaze the cake.

            Glaze:

1. In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine butter and sugar. Stir continuously until butter is melted and sugar has begun to melt. Add 1 tbsp. of water and continue stirring and cooking for ~4 minutes. Add the Luxardo Liqueur and Angostura Bitters, continue to mix and cook for ~2 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the ½ cup of Woodford Rye. Stir until blended. The glaze should be the consistency of real maple syrup.

2. Using a pastry brush, brush the glaze over the top, sides, & center of cake. I recommend brushing on a couple layers of the glaze, and then let the cake sit for a few minutes, then brush on a few more layers of glaze. Any left over glaze can be used to pour atop individual slices of the cake.