It's (almost) fall, ya'll! And I'm kicking off the season with a new easy and cozy fig Manhattan recipe.

This drink is perfect for the first few chilly nights of the season.

I posted about how I've been eating allll the figs lately. They're perfectly in season right now, so I'm grabbing as many as I can before they're gone for the year.

I made a fig syrup that I've been using on so many things. And after a few days, I thought, why not use this in a cocktail?

So I put my wannabe bartender husband up to the challenge, and he created this amazing Manhattan recipe.

The Classic Manhattan Cocktail

Have you ever had a Manhattan? This cocktail is super classic. It's made of three ingredients: whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. Easy, right?

Usually, rye whiskey is used in Manhattans, but you can use any whiskey you have. Some people even substitute bourbon (like this recipe!).

This cocktail is a classic for a reason - it's believed to have been created in the 1880s! Obviously, this cocktail was created in New York City, on Manhattan Island.

Manhattans are often served in a cocktail or coupe glass - but you can use what you have on hand to enjoy this delicious cocktail.

The Magic of Figs

In my Fig Syrup blog post, I talked all about how much I just love figs. They're one of my favorite fruits, and in Ohio, the fig season is so short!

So once I got my hands on a few packs of figs, I went crazy. We made the fig jam, and then started infusing it into so many things!

We decided that we needed to use the syrup in cocktails, and this recipe was born.

This recipe uses fat washed bourbon - it's sounds weird, but it's actually really simple. Fat washed bourbon adds fat for a more flavorful cocktail. Once you try it, you'll never look back, because it is DELISH.

How to Fat Wash Bourbon

To make fat washed bourbon, you'll use one bottle of bourbon or American whiskey and one stick of butter. This is the basic ratio that will yield one bottle of bourbon, so if you want to make less - just reduce ratios to your desired amount. Example - if you want to try this method on ¼ bottle of bourbon, only use ¼ stick of butter.

First, you'll brown the butter. Place the butter in a small saucepan and heat on low - constantly checking that it does not burn.

When butter is browned, remove from heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. When the butter is warm, but not room temperature, pour in your bourbon and stir.

Allow butter and bourbon mixture to completely cool to room temperature, and then put into a mason jar. Place the mason jar in the freezer overnight to allow the butter to come to the top and freeze.

The next day, remove the top layer of solidified butter and save it for future use!! This butter is GOLD - use in cookies, cakes, or any other dessert.

Strain the rest of the butter out with a fine strainer of coffee filter. Don't be alarmed if the final liquid looks cloudy - that's what you are going for! Store your fat washed bourbon in the fridge for future use.

Now that you know how to fat wash bourbon, let's make our cocktail.