The classic Manhattan has long served as a source of inspiration for bartenders, leading to other geographically branded variants like the Brooklyn (rye whiskey, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur, Amer Picon) as well as modern takes like Abigail Gullo’s Longshoreman (rye whiskey, Punt e Mes, Averna). The latter is a riff on a riff, inspired by the contemporary classic Red Hook cocktail. Created by Italian bartender Vincenzo Errico at New York City bar Milk & Honey in 2003, the Red Hook takes its name from the south Brooklyn neighborhood, a 19th-century industrial shipping port. “A fellow Italian neighbor of mine in Brooklyn suggested the name to me,” recalls Errico. “I was an Italian bartender working in Manhattan making a twist between the Brooklyn and Manhattan cocktail.” The inspiration for the drink came from the new availability of an Italian vermouth behind the bar, Punt e Mes (the Piedmontese name means “point and a half,” referring to one part sweet vermouth and a half part bitter amaro). Errico replaced the Manhattan’s traditional sweet vermouth with a half-ounce pour of Punt e Mes and a complementary half ounce of maraschino liqueur. “People that liked to drink rye whiskey cocktails didn’t have many choices at the time,” says Errico. “I gave rye whiskey drinkers a new cocktail. People made it go around, just by word of mouth."