Beet Up Manhattan Cocktail

Beetroot juice combines with whisky, vermouth, chocolate liqueur and port to make up a rich Manhattan cocktail variation

Beetroot cocktails become a thing with our version of the Manhattan cocktail that mixes beetroot juice with Australian whisky, vermouth, chocolate liqueur and port.

Beetroot might be more commonly placed in salads and burgers but it also can be quite a versatile cocktail ingredient. There's a certain richness to the texture of beetroot juice and whilst it's savoury, it's also got earthy chocolate notes to it that makes it a complex mixer (we think!)

Thanks to a tip from mixing maestro Dr Phil (formerly of Eau De Vie and Bentley) that beetroot and sweet vermouth go well together, we built on that to create a multi layered cocktail using the rich sherried New World Projects PX cask whisky married with a little port. This particular expression comes from the Starward Distillery and was an exclusive to local booze retailers Vintage Cellars - they're up to release #3 which is the one we used and if you're lucky, you might come across a stray bottle in one of the stores.  

This is definitely one of those cocktails where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Rich, silky, chocolate-y yet savoury at the same time, it's so good to sip!

Ingredients

• 60ml Starward New World Projects PX cask #3 whisky

• 20ml Antica Formula sweet vermouth

• 10ml port

• 5 ml dark creme de cacao

• 30ml beetroot juice (we used Cawston Press, which you can get from most Woolworths)

Shake all over ice and strain into glass.