Left Hand Cocktail Recipe

The Left Hand is a spirit-forward, Negroni variation combining bourbon, Campari, sweet vermouth, and chocolate bitters. 

This modern classic cocktail was created at Sasha Petraske’s pioneering cocktail bar Milk & Honey in New York City in 2005 by Sam Ross, the bartender behind other contemporary classics such as the Penicillin and Paper Plane.

In Regarding Cocktails, the 2016 book detailing the many cocktails that came out of Milk & Honey’s 14 year run, writer Georgette Moger-Petraske, Petraske’s widow, interviews each of the cocktail’s creators. In the book, Sam Ross notes that the Left Hand was part of family of cocktails dreamed up at the bar.

“We created a series of ‘Hand’ cocktails in the early days of Milk & Honey,” he says. “The Right Hand was an aged-rum take; Tres Hands was its mezcal and tequila sister; and the Smoking Hand was her brother from Islay and the Highlands.” 

The Left Hand draws inspiration from both the Manhattan and the Negroni. Though the Negroni had a significant resurgence in popular culture in the mid to late-2000s, the drink was an early favorite of craft bartenders by 2005. 

“Before the Boulevardier came back into prominence, this was a bourbon riff on the Negroni that we created using the newly released chocolate bitters from Bittermen’s,” Ross says in the book. “Sasha reserved his compliments for only a few drinks, but this was one of our cocktails in the ‘Hand’ series that he loved. ‘Well played, Sam,’ he said.”

Why the Left Hand works

While the Left Hand shares DNA with a few classics, including the bourbon-based Boulevardier, the difference in ingredient proportions, the ice-free serve, and the addition of chocolate bitters, significantly changes up the profile. 

The higher ratio of bourbon makes for a more whiskey-forward drink. Campari and sweet vermouth is called for in equal parts, matching the bourbon notes of vanilla, caramel and charred oak while adding bittersweet citrus and herbal complexity.

Chocolate bitters is the slight differentiator that complements each ingredient. It naturally enhances the cocoa and spice undertones in the whiskey, balances the bitterness in the Campari, and provides a nutty depth to the sweet vermouth. The brandied cherry garnish lends additional sweetness to the stirred cocktail, and is a nod to a classic Manhattan.