Today we share with you a creation for the holidays. It starts with a bit of cooking time in the kitchen to create a Spiced Port Syrup. This syrup is used as a replacement for Sweet Vermouth in a traditional Manhattan to make what we call The Portly Man in the Red Coat Cocktail. It adds a nice holiday bakery spice twist to the original Manhattan cocktail. Also if you end up having any of the Port syrup left over it is great over vanilla ice cream, fresh fruit, and drizzled over cookies left out for that Portly Man in the Red Coat on Christmas Eve. Cheers!
Port Wine Syrup
- 1 750ml Bottle Ruby Port
- 1 750 ml Bottle Tawny Port
- 1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
- 2 Vanilla Beans Scraped
- 8 Cloves
- 4 All Spice Berries
- 18 Black Peppercorns (Crushed)
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks (Broken)
- 2 Ounces of Lemon Juice
In a Saucepan add all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by 75% (hot syrup should cling to a spoon when stirred and when cool should be thick but pourable). Cool and refrigerate. Syrup will keep for 7-10 days.
The Portly Man in the Red Coat Cocktail
In a large rocks glass filled with cracked ice add:
- 2 Ounces Well-Bred Rye Whiskey*
- ½ Ounce Port Wine Syrup
- 1 Dash Orange Bitters
Stir to combine ingredients, Top with a Splash of Club Soda. Garnish with a Clove Studded Orange Peel or Maraschino Cherry.
*We like this with Rye but it Works well with Bourbon too.
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