Let’s Play Squash

A Manhattan Redux with Autumnal Hues

Rest your elbows on the dark steel bar at The Slow Rhode and your attention shifts from white oak bar accents to a carefully curated bourbon selection to a small yet visually magnetic food service window, which reminds you of your childhood wonderment at the fast-food drive-through. You can finally order hot fried chicken alongside your expertly crafted Manhattan.

Food and bar ingredients change with the seasons at The Slow Rhode. Bartender Emily Costa makes a great Manhattan even better by infusing Four Roses Bourbon with roasted, salted and spiced butternut squash. The infused whiskey sways with the herbaceous accent of sweet vermouth, both rich and satiny with a heady hint of maple. A bitter aromatic, Fernet Branca, glazes the chilled cocktail glass and tempers the savory-sweet balance of whiskey to vermouth. A star anise pod crests the glass, giving way to an olfactory excursion to a good ol’-fashioned harvest festival.