Proportions for the classic Manhattan are two (sometimes three) parts whiskey to one part sweet vermouth, with a little aromatic boost from bitters. The drink is believed to date from 1874, created by a bartender at New York’s Manhattan Club. “Since New York was a rye town in those days,” writes cocktail expert Dale DeGroff in The Craft of the Cocktail, “the original Manhattan was made with rye whiskey.” Bourbon Manhattans are a thing in the South. If you’re a bourbon fan too, get our Old Fashioned Cocktail recipe.
- Yield: 1 drink
- Difficulty: Easy
- Total: Under 5 mins
- Active: Under 5 mins
Ingredients (5)
- 2 ounces rye whiskey or bourbon
- 1 ounce sweet vermouth
- 2 dashes angostura bitters
- Ice
- 1 cherry in marasca syrup
Instructions
- Place a cocktail glass in the freezer to chill.
- Measure the whiskey and vermouth into a mixing glass. Add the bitters.
- Add ice and stir until chilled, about 30 seconds.
- Strain into the chilled cocktail glass.
- Drop the cherry into the glass and serve.
