The Manhattan is a simple cocktail on paper—whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters—but its balance relies on weight, warmth, and a long finish, all of which are harder to achieve without alcohol. The City That Sleeps takes that template and adapts it for evening unwinding, featuring the soothing, woody botanical profile of Three Spirit Nightcap. Spiritless Kentucky 74 adds the familiar oak that a Manhattan needs, while a combination of our Aromatic and Orange Cardamom bitters keep things classic with a nice bright lift—making this a grounded, grown-up alternative to the usual “sleepy girl mocktail.”
Nightcap’s blend of ashwagandha, valerian root, lemon balm, and hops is designed to help you relax and sleep more soundly, and skipping alcohol at night only improves the quality of that rest. This is a “Manhattan-style” non-alcoholic cocktail designed for the end of the day—bold, warming, and genuinely relaxing.
This recipe was perfected with Spiritless Kentucky 74 and Roots Divino Sweet Vermouth, but you can use your favorite non-alc (or full-strength) whiskey and vermouth instead.
A
cozy, spirit-forward NA Manhattan with herbal depth and sleep-friendly
botanicals.
Ingredients
1 ½ oz Three Spirit Nightcap
1 oz Spiritless Kentucky 74 (or other NA whiskey)
½ oz non-alcoholic sweet vermouth
2 dashes ATB Old Fashioned Aromatic Bitters
2 dashes ATB Orange Cardamom Bitters
Directions
Keep spirits refrigerated to avoid dilution.
Combine pre-chilled spirits with bitters in a mixing glass, stir to blend, and pour into a chilled coupe glass.
Garnish with a cocktail cherry and orange twist.
Recipe Note
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS Non-alcoholic cocktails don’t require abandoning the classic playbook—just adapting it. A traditional Manhattan made with NA whiskey and vermouth alone often falls flat, because vermouth doesn’t provide enough texture or weight to support the NA whiskey. Here, Nightcap fills that gap. Its warm, woody botanicals add the depth and body the drink needs, while Kentucky 74 brings familiar oak notes. The result lands in that perfect middle ground: recognizably Manhattan-like, but with its own distinctive personality that makes this drink unique. ABOUT THREE SPIRIT NIGHTCAP Nightcap isn’t a whiskey replica, but it shares the qualities that matter in a Manhattan-style drink: warmth, woodiness, spice, and texture. It adds the weight and depth that non-alcoholic whiskeys often need, making the cocktail feel structured rather than thin. It also brings something new to the equation—functional botanicals like ashwagandha, valerian root, lemon balm, and hops, which help you unwind and support better sleep. A NOTE ON DILUTION Because non-alcoholic spirits are often lighter in texture than their boozy counterparts, too much melted ice can make a drink taste weak or watery. For cocktails that are traditionally stirred with ice, keep your bottles refrigerated so the spirits start cold, eliminating the need for ice during mixing. When serving up, combine the chilled spirits in a mixing glass without ice, stir to blend, and strain into a frozen coupe for a crisp, concentrated result. If serving on the rocks instead, build the drink directly in the serving glass, add one large ice cube, and stir briefly to chill without watering it down. USING BITTERS IN MOCKTAILS Cocktail bitters provide depth and balance, rounding out sweet and sour flavors while adding bite. Since All The Bitter is completely 0% ABV (unlike traditional bitters, which are around 45% alcohol), you can use as much as you like to dial in the flavor and complexity of your non-alcoholic cocktails.
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