This variation on a Manhattan was created by longtime Lantern bar goddess Kristen Johnson and christened by Lantern lexicographer Phil Morrison. When naming his first novel, Thomas Wolfe is said to have been inspired by an engraving of a John Milton poem on a stone statue of an angel in a cemetery in Hendersonville, North Carolina, not too far from Levering Orchard: Look homeward Angel now, and melt with ruth: And, O ye Dolphins, waft the hapless youth.

　　

Ingredients

serves 1

　　2 ounces rye whiskey

　　1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

　　1/4 ounce orange bitters

　　A splash of cherry pickling liquid (recipe follows)

　　2 Pickled Sour Cherries (recipe follows)

　　

Pickled Sour Cherries

1 1/4 cups rice vinegar

　　1 small slice of fresh ginger

　　15 black peppercorns

　　1 1/4 cups sugar

　　1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

　　4 cups pitted fresh sour cherries (about 1 pound)

　　(makes 1 quart)

　　

Step 1

Pour the rye, vermouth, and bitters over ice in a cocktail mixer. Shake to chill before straining into a chilled glass. Add the cherry pickling liquid. Serve straight up, garnished with the pickled cherries.

　　

Pickled Sour Cherries

Step 2

In a small nonreactive saucepan, combine the vinegar, ginger, peppercorns, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water, and bring to a boil.

　　

Step 3

Put the cherries in a large heatproof jar and pour the hot vinegar mixture over them, covering them completely. When they have cooled, cover and refrigerate. These are best if they sit for at least a day before serving.

　　Cooking in the Moment