Strange Bedfellows

• 1oz amaro
• 1oz red vermouth
• 1oz aquavit

Mix with ice in a shaker. Stir vigorously and strain into a martini glass. We didn't garnish this, but maybe a twist of lemon and/or a maraschino cherry would do the trick.

This has a lot of depth. I don't really know how to describe this (yet) but I'm really enamored of this kind of cocktail concept right now.

Manhattan

• Several dashes of bitters
• 2oz Bourbon (Scotch didn't work as well for us)
• 1oz Sweet vermouth

combine over ice and stir. Serve.

Thoughts: Claire is having a hard time coming up with anything to say about this drink other than "delicious with bourbon"and "tell them not to use scotch." If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is.
[This is Claire] -- so far, Jim Beam produces the smoothest of Manhattans. Dewars = gross, Bulleit = somewhere in the middle. This will, of course, require more research.