A manhattan-style cocktail made up of amaro and rye with a honey syrup

This drink came about because so many customers were ordering manhattans over something from our house cocktail list that I decided to develop a version that was unique to us, but would still satisfy people’s need for a manhattan-style cocktail. I wanted it to have more richness and complexity, and to use an amaro, too, because I’ve always felt that amari have a greater depth of flavour than vermouths. This all coincided with that time of year when everything gets (dreaded phrase) “pumpkin-spiced”, but I felt that, used in the right way, those seasonal flavours could accent the flavours of the amari. The drink’s name comes from an old nightclub that used to be on the same street as our sister restaurant, Skua. It burned down in the early 1990s, but it’s a great name for a drink, plus, with the Manhattan Rockefeller connection and the Cinderella-pumpkin link, it was just kismet.

Ben Mansour, general manager, Cardinal, Edinburgh