Cocktails › Classics › Manhattan
Manhattan
ClassicStirred5 Min
Yield: 1 Cocktail
The Manhattan is the stirred drink that taught all the others. Rye brings the spice, sweet vermouth brings the roundness, and two dashes of bitters tie the knot. Serve it cold enough to bite back.
Rye
2oz / 60ml
Vermouth
1oz / 30ml
Bitters
2 dashes
Ingredients
- 2oz (60ml) rye whiskey
- 1oz (30ml) sweet vermouth
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- Cocktail cherry, for garnish
Method
- Add rye, sweet vermouth, and bitters to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir for 25 to 30 seconds until well chilled.
- Strain into a chilled stemmed glass.
- Garnish with the cherry.
Tip: Chill the glass while you stir. A warm glass wilts a drink served up within a minute.
Variations
- Perfect Manhattan. Use half sweet vermouth and half dry vermouth. Drier, lighter, and lovely before dinner.
- Black Manhattan. Swap the vermouth for an amaro. Darker and moodier, with a long herbal finish.
Questions
Rye or bourbon in a Manhattan?
Rye is the classic and makes a drier, spicier drink. Bourbon makes it rounder and sweeter. Neither is wrong, they are two moods of the same drink.
Up or on the rocks?
Classically it is served up, in a stemmed glass. On a big cube it holds up fine too, it just softens as you sip.