Oakside Cocktails Manhattan RTD Cocktail

Oakside Cocktail Co. began when two friends started pre-batching Negronis for their own gatherings, discovering that a bottled, bar-quality cocktail let them spend less time mixing drinks and more time enjoying them at the beach, on a boat, or around a bonfire. That idea grew into a full ready-to-serve lineup built on serious sourcing, and in 2024 Terlato Wine Group's spirits arm acquired a fifty percent stake in the company to help expand production and take the portfolio national.

The Manhattan is built on Two James Spirits' Grass Widow, a three-year-aged Michigan bourbon finished in Madeira casks for a touch of natural sweetness alongside its core structure. That base is blended with a custom amaro from Don Ciccio & Figli in Washington, DC, a Californian sweet vermouth, and orange bitters from Vena's Fizz House in Maine. Bottled at 750ml and 32% alcohol by volume, or 64 proof, each bottle pours roughly eight to ten cocktails with no mixing required.

Poured chilled or over ice, the cocktail leads with a rich, spirit-forward core of bourbon before the amaro and vermouth round things out with notes of hazelnut and citrus. It's boozy without tipping out of balance, smooth on the palate, and structured enough to hold its shape whether served straight up in a coupe or over a large cube. Garnish with a cherry or an orange twist.