Mulled Manhattan

Name: Mulled Manhattan
Ingredients: Mulled Simple Syrup; 1 cup water; 1 cup sugar; 3 tablespoons whole mulling spices (cinnamon, allspice, cloves); 1-2 star anise; several strips orange zest; Mulled Manhatten (makes two cocktails); 4 ounces good bourbon (I like Buffalo Trace and Bulleit for cocktails); 1 ounce sweet vermouth (I use Dolin); 1 ounce mulled simple syrup; several drops orange bitters; several drops regular old fashioned bitters *; 2 strips of orange zest

13 ingredients

5 steps

Ingredients

Mulled Simple Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons whole mulling spices (cinnamon, allspice, cloves)
1-2 star anise
several strips orange zest
Mulled Manhatten (makes two cocktails)
4 ounces good bourbon (I like Buffalo Trace and Bulleit for cocktails)
1 ounce sweet vermouth (I use Dolin)
1 ounce mulled simple syrup
several drops orange bitters
several drops regular old fashioned bitters *
2 strips of orange zest

Directions

1

Add all ingredients to small saucepan and bring to gentle simmer. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved and let simmer for 5-10 minutes or until sufficiently steeped. Turn off heat and let cool to room temp with spices. Decant into glass bottle (or plastic squeeze bottle as I do) straining out the spices. It is ready to use or keep in fridge.
2

Chill your cocktail glasses.
3

Mix bourbon, vermouth and mulled simple syrup over ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously until frosty. Strain into glasses.
4

Sprinkle a dash of orange bitters and a dash of old fashioned bitters onto each cocktail. Twist zest over drink and drop in. You can also drop in the star anise from the mulling to give a nice aromatic. Not needed, but it looks and smells good.
5

*the most common brand of old fashioned bitters are Angostura. I happen to prefer Fee Brothers, hence the more generic term.