Mulled Manhattan

• Mulled Simple Syrup
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons whole mulling spices (cinnamon, allspice, cloves)
• 1-2 star anise
• several strips orange zest
• Mulled Manhatten (makes two cocktails)
• 4 ounces good bourbon (I like Buffalo Trace and Bulleit for cocktails)
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth (I use Dolin)
• 1 ounce mulled simple syrup
• several drops orange bitters
• several drops regular old fashioned bitters *
• 2 strips of orange zest

1. Add all ingredients to small saucepan and bring to gentle simmer. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved and let simmer for 5-10 minutes or until sufficiently steeped. Turn off heat and let cool to room temp with spices. Decant into glass bottle (or plastic squeeze bottle as I do) straining out the spices. It is ready to use or keep in fridge.
2. Chill your cocktail glasses.
3. Mix bourbon, vermouth and mulled simple syrup over ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously until frosty. Strain into glasses.
4. Sprinkle a dash of orange bitters and a dash of old fashioned bitters onto each cocktail. Twist zest over drink and drop in. You can also drop in the star anise from the mulling to give a nice aromatic. Not needed, but it looks and smells good.
5. *the most common brand of old fashioned bitters are Angostura. I happen to prefer Fee Brothers, hence the more generic term.

simple syrup, water, sugar, cinnamon, anise, several strips orange zest, bourbon, sweet, simple syrup, orange bitters, regular, orange zest

Taken from food52.com/recipes/20559-mulled-manhattan (may not work)