Remember the Maine Cocktail Recipe
A Manhattan bent toward Havana: rye, sweet vermouth, cherry brandy and a whisper of absinthe.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 30%
- Difficulty: Medium
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Rye whiskey60 ml (2 oz)
- Sweet red vermouth20 ml (0.7 oz)
- Cherry brandy10 ml (0.3 oz)
- Absinthe2 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 is layered, giving you something different each sip.
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.
- Absinthe
- The anise spirit, 55-70% alcohol. In cocktails it is used as a rinse rather than a measure: most recipes have you coat the glass and pour the rest away, leaving only the aroma.
The Story
Recorded by Charles H. Baker Jr. in Havana during the 1933 revolution, with the instruction to stir it in a clockwise motion.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Remember the Maine mixed?
- It is stirred and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a Remember the Maine?
- Roughly 30% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a Remember the Maine 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 Remember the Maine hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.