BACK IN 2020, I PUT TOGETHER an Election Night cocktail menu that was a hair above basic: classics like the martini and the Manhattan, but elevated slightly by superior ingredients. (Please, I’m begging you: Up your Vermouth game a little, folks! Even if you don’t want to step all the way up to the Carpano Antica, any decent liquor store has Dolin Rouge right there!) It was a fine list, but one minor issue with it was that they were all pretty strong drinks for a long night. Needless to say, tonight may well be another long night.
So I teamed up with Peter Suderman—who y’all might know from the movie podcast we cohost with Alyssa Rosenberg, Across the Movie Aisle—to discuss another option or two. If you enjoy Peter’s recommendations here, I highly recommend signing up for his Substack, Cocktails with Suderman; he’s got all sorts of off-the-wall ideas. You can watch our video (shot by the brilliant Hannah Yoest and edited by the amazing Jamie Abraham) here; below that, I’ll include the ingredients used in making both the Americano and the Manhattan he recommends. And I’ll toss in a bonus drink with some American history behind it in case you’re interested in doing something a bit more . . . labor-intensive.
The Americano as described by Peter is pretty straightforward. Here’s what you’re looking for:
4 oz club soda
1.5 oz Campari
1.5 oz Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth
Take a highball (or any tall, narrow class, or, frankly, a Solo Cup; we won’t stand on ceremony here), fill it with ice, then add the club soda. I am generally a stickler for liquid amounts—cocktails are all about balance—but you can eyeball the club soda, I won’t hold it against you. The point of this drink is to streeeeeetch the evening out. So a slightly watered-down Americano isn’t the worst thing in the world.
We’re going live starting at 7:30pm on Election Night on the Bulwark YouTube page. Bring your drink of choice and join us live!
PETER ALSO DEMONSTRATES how to make a Manhattan, and one thing I really like to emphasize when making a Manhattan is that you want a properly sized glass. I use these small Riedel Nick & Nora glasses, which have a total volume of just under five ounces. (I also have some small martini glasses, but I’ve found they tend to spill a little more than these coupe-shaped Nick & Noras.) The reason I prefer a small glass is because a proper Manhattan is going to be somewhere between three and four ounces, depending on how much ice melts while you’re shaking or stirring. And if you start pouring these into larger glasses, you’re going to start thinking they’re too small. And then you’re going to start making yourself bigger cocktails. And that’s how things get out of control. All things in moderation, particularly whiskey.
Here’s Peter’s recipe:
2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1 oz Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Luxardo maraschino cherry
Add the first three ingredients to a glass with ice and vigorously stir. Pour into a coupe glass, and garnish with a cherry, adding just a tiny bit of the cherry juice for a little extra sweetness.
(Not that anyone asked, but my Manhattan is made with High West Double Rye and Dolin Rouge, and I often go heavy on the bitters to make it a bit spicier, four or five dashes. I also shake, rather than stir, because I like it a little frothy. I’m not saying it’s better than Mr. Suderman’s, but it is competitive.)
Now look. The Manhattan is a strong drink. And it’s a very drinkable drink. If you start the night with these and keep going all night with these, you’re headed for disaster. Maybe make it a special occasion drink. When a big state gets called. When the whole thing wraps up. The first time Donald Trump declares victory despite CNN calling it for Kamala Harris. These are the times that call for a Manhattan.
WHICH LEADS ME to my final recommendation. This is also a very drinkable drink, but it’s not that strong, and it’s a bit bigger than the others. That said, it’ll take some prep. So if you find yourself needing to work off some nervous energy this afternoon, here’s how to prepare a raspberry rum shrub.
I grabbed this recipe from Eric Felten’s How’s Your Drink? and I’ve made it for the last 15 years, on and off. As Felten notes, the syrupy shrub from which this drink derives its name has been in use since the days of the Founders, meaning that this drink has a long and strong small-d democratic tradition. Here’s the recipe:
1 oz raspberry shrub syrup
2 oz dark rum
4 oz ginger ale or soda water
But what is this raspberry syrup shrub of which I speak? Well I’m glad you asked! It’s a vinegary, sugary, fruity flavor boost that makes everything a little more interesting. Here’s what you’ll need to make it.
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 pints raspberries
2 cups white wine vinegar
First, get a slightly wider pot and boil the water and the sugar to make a base-level simple syrup. After about five minutes, reduce the heat and mix in the raspberries, stirring pretty regularly for about 10 minutes. Then add the vinegar and boil for two minutes. Remove from heat and strain the seeds/raspberry pulp by pouring the mixture into a separate pot. Allow this to cool and then bottle it. (This produces kind of a lot of syrup; I have found it’s usually a little more than an empty 750ml liquor bottle, which is typically what I use to store my syrups in. My one last piece of advice: Transfer from the pot to the bottle/container in your sink. That way the inevitable spills are easier to clean up. This whole thing is devilishly sticky.)
I prefer the soda water variation of the raspberry rum shrub, as the ginger ale version is eye-wateringly sweet. But to each his own. The vinegar in the shrub syrup creates an interesting little tang either way.
Anyway, this should get you through the night. Drink safely! Get an Uber home if you’re at someone else’s house. Don’t fall down your stairs.
And free version of this video is available on YouTube here.
