You may have noticed that in my recipe below I call for 1/3 cup of maraschino cherries then omit any mention of them in the assembly instructions. Why? The cherries do not go in the salad, they go into the cook. They taste better if you use this dipping sauce for them.
2 ounces blended whiskey (Fabiola prefers Kesslers)
1 ounce sweet vermouth
5 dashes bitters
just a splash of southern comfort
Dr. Pepper to taste.
You may call it a modified Manhattan, I call it dipping sauce (before noon anyway).