With fall upon us, it’s time to change from the light summer drinks to something a little more warming — like a Manhattan. But how to make a more “natural” Manhattan — it’s that damn cherry filled with chemicals that’s the problem.

For the Wikipedia history of the maraschino cherry, click here. It’s actually a good read.

Well, it turns out that there are natural undyed maraschino cherries available at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and where I got mine, the Berkeley Bowl in Berkely, CA on a recent birthday trip. They sell the Princess Brand from Princess Pickled Products in Sunnyside, Washington.

So — that’s one ingredient down, several more to go. The traditional recipe (or at least MY tradition) is 2 parts whiskey, 1 part sweet vermouth, a touch of bitters and that pesky cherry.

For the whiskey — Wild Turkey 101 proof Rye Whiskey, which is a devil to find on the West Coast. There is one store in Seattle, on Broadway (Capital Hill neighborhood) that stocks it, or you can order a case through any store. Found it at a store in Eugene, Oregon — but it just isn’t that popular on the west coast.

For the sweet vermouth — also at the Berkeley Bowl was a lovely Vya Sweet Vermouth made in Madera, California. In an amusing chat at my local liquor store on the island, was chuckling with the owner over people who buy the most expensive whiskies for their Manhattans, and then look for the cheapest sweet vermouth.

And now onto the bitters — there is way more than Angostura Bitters (the standard from your parents time). My favorite is one that I picked up in the Buffalo Trace Distillery on a tour a couple of years ago — Regan’s Orange Bitters. One local specialty food store in Seattle (DeLaurenti’s) carries Fee Brothers Orange Bitters, and they also carry tomolives (small marinated green tomatoes for your martinis). Now my friend Lynne goes wild for Peychaud’s Bitters from New Orleans.

So, now that you’ve spent weeks shopping for the perfect ingredients… time to get down to business.

Over ice in a shaker, put:
2 parts Wild Turkey Rye
1 part Vya Sweet Vermouth
dash(s) of Regan’s Orange Bitters (to taste)
Shake, drain into a frosted martini glass (you had those in the freezer, right?)
Add:
1 natural maraschino cherry

Consume responsibly — these things are wicked, and basically all booze.

And want something to go with that Manhattan? Try this recipe from the Vegan Diva’s Blog for Maraschino Cherry Nut Bread.