They say, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” That is what we faced when on day 10 of our quarantine, we had the desire for a classic Manhattan. This was the evening of Betsy’s birthday and we discovered we had no Angostura Bitters.

We are in quarantine with Chelsea and Sam in Madison, Wisconsin. They recently moved here into a cute little house that we have been freshening up and renovating the last few months. We affectionately call the house Tiny 2. Angostura Bitters has just not made it into the house yet.

To be fair Chelsea and Sam did an amazing job of stocking up for our two-week quarantine after returning from Europe two weeks ago. You can check out some of What We’re Eating While in Quarantine in Chelsea’s latest blog. We are also well stocked in the alcohol department, so when I looked at our supplies I had plenty of inspiration.   

We had bourbon, sweet vermouth, and cherries. To add something bitter, I looked at our aperitivo supplies. We almost always have Campari because we are such fans of the Spritz. Betsy also loves maple syrup and with that, my ingredients were decided.

I guessed at some measurements and came up with what I am calling an Isolation. It was such a hit we had them again tonight. Here is how to make them. 

Isolation (for 2)

4 oz. bourbon

2 oz. sweet vermouth

1 oz. pure maple syrup

½ oz. Campari

Luxardo Maraschino cherries

Put rocks glasses into the freezer. Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add the bourbon, vermouth, syrup, and Campari and stir thoroughly. Add a cherry with a little of the cherry syrup to the bottom of each glass. Strain alcohol into glasses and enjoy!

We would love to mix up a batch of these and share them with you around the pool at some nice villa in Tuscany. Until we can do that, wash your hands, stay home, and be safe. We will get through this!

If you’d like to celebrate that we are no longer in so much isolation, why not create your own bar at home and share this awesome cocktail with your friends and family? Remember to stock it like a pro.

Remember that we are always available to you and your friends and family for custom trip planning to Italy, France, Ireland, the UK and all of Europe. We are experts in creating custom travel itineraries and leading small group trips to European destinations. We also book European cruises! Feel free to reach out via email — We’re always available to talk about travel! 

Greg Ball – Greg is co-founder and partner of Euro Travel Coach (ETC), which crafts custom European vacations for independent travelers and leads small group tours to Europe. In his previous life he taught Woodwinds and Jazz at the university level for 30 years. As a professor he took his bands to England, Ireland, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, and England. Since “retiring” he and his wife/ETC co-founder Betsy travel Europe nine months out of the year. Together they have visited over 40 countries and counting! He loves cooking, hiking, listening and playing music, and wine and holds a Level 3 certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust.