Cocktail Recipe: Learn to Make the Claudio's Hidden Trap

This cocktail recipe for the Hidden Trap comes to us from Claudio’s Tavern & Grill mixologist Valentin Gonzalez.

“What a perfect opportunity to make a spin on a classic cocktail, the Little Italy, which is a spin on the Manhattan, the great-grandfather of all spirit-forward cocktails,” says Gonzalez.

The origins of the Manhattan are lost to time. The most popular theory is that in the early 1870s, Dr. Iain Marshall came up with the recipe for a party that was held at the Manhattan Club in New York City by Lady Randolph Churchill, Winston Churchill’s mother.

The Little Italy — a stirred mix of whiskey, vermouth and bitters — was created in 2005 by Audrey Saunders for the opening menu of the Pegu Club in New York City. The Hidden Trap, however, pairs sweet vermouth and Cynar bitters with bourbon.

Cynar is an Italian amaro relying first on artichokes for flavor and then another 13 or so herbs. It is bittersweet, with notes of caramel and cinnamon, and an herbal and botanical finish. Sweet vermouth offers a herbaceous and spice-driven complexity to balance a Manhattan.

According to the Claudio’s website: “During Prohibition, Claudio’s became a fine dining restaurant on the ground floors with a lively upstairs bar for imbibing illegal spirits. These were brought in by bootleggers by boat, through hidden trap doors behind the bar, one of which still exists to this day.”

Claudio’s Hidden Trap

Hidden Trap Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz Jefferson’s Ocean bourbon
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
3/4 oz Cynar

Step 1: Mix all ingredients.

Step 2: Garnish with orange slice.

For more Claudio’s cocktails, visit the North Fork restaurant at 111 Main Street, Greenport or online at claudios.com.