This one is my own invention, inspired by the need to use a decade-old white elephant gift.
- 2 oz bourbon
- 1 oz Jägermeister Spice (Cinnamon and Vanilla Blend)
- 2 dashes chocolate bitters
- 1 dash orange bitters
A family holiday gift swap a decade left me with a bottle of Jägermeister, but not the eponymous liqueur favored by college students. This one was a lighter variant (maybe more Christmas-y): Jägermeister Spice (Cinnamon and Vanilla Blend).
It sat on a shelf for years before I tried it. At the time, I had little knowledge or experience with liqueurs or cocktails and didn’t think much of it. Even once I started mixing, it remained in the back of the liquor cabinet, as I had no idea what to do with it. At some point I read in a post on the liqueur that “[Jägermeister] is basically a German amaro with a ton of heritage behind it.” When I finally got around to thinking about how to use that bottle that was just taking up space, those words bubbled to the surface.
A Black Manhattan is a variant of the classic that uses Averna (an Italian amaro) in place of vermouth. That was my inspiration. If what I had was basically a German amaro, I should be able to do something similar. Given that the specific liqueur I had was the “Cinnamon and Vanilla Blend,” I also thought that it might be a great excuse to use chocolate bitters as well.
The name of the drink is a tribute to a mentor (and surrogate grandfather) from my childhood church. Larry German was a remarkable man, educated in both music and science. Rumor had it that he was among the scientists involved in the Manhattan Project. Playing with words a little here, I decided I would name my Manhattan with German Amaro accordingly.
I found it worked well with the excellent Helderberg Bourbon made by local distiller New Scotland Spirits.
Enjoy.
