Manhattan Cocktail Recipe
Rye whiskey and sweet vermouth bound by bitters and served up. Sophisticated and warming.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 30%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Rye whiskey50 ml (1.7 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth20 ml (0.7 oz)
- Angostura bitters1 dash
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled.
- Strain into a chilled coupe.
- Garnish with a cherry.
Garnish
Maraschino cherry
What it tastes like
The spirit is right out front and it hits hard.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A stemmed, shallow coupe. The stem keeps your hand's warmth away from the drink, and the wide bowl carries the aroma to your nose. Served without ice.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Rye whiskey
- Rye whiskey. Where bourbon is sweet, rye brings black pepper and a mint-like sharpness; in drinks with sweet vermouth, like a Manhattan, that sharpness is what holds the balance.
- Sweet red vermouth
- Once opened it lives IN THE FRIDGE and should be finished within a month; a bottle left at room temperature oxidises in a few weeks and sours the drink.
- Angostura bitters
- The salt of the cocktail world. Measured in dashes, not millilitres: a few of them cut the sweetness and add spice. One bottle lasts years.
The Story
Said to have originated at the Manhattan Club in New York in the 1870s.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Manhattan mixed?
- It is stirred and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a Manhattan?
- Roughly 30% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a Manhattan be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Manhattan hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.