Manhattan Cocktail & Modern Variations (28)

This is a stout drink! Drink Manhattans while entertaining at home or have a designated driver or cab waiting.  The ingredients are spirits that you can add to your bar stock and return to time and again.

The original Manhattan, created in 1874 at the Manhattan Club in New York, was made with sweet vermouth and rye, which produces a smooth, mellow, cocktail. Over time, multiple variations of the Manhattan have developed, with tweaks to both the whiskey and the vermouth, so that today you can have a classic sweet Manhattan, made with only sweet vermouth; a dry Manhattan, made with only dry vermouth; or a perfect Manhattan, made with equal amounts of both. And as bourbon has become increasingly popular over the last few decades, it has found its way into the Manhattan in the place of the rye whiskey, giving a richer cocktail more bite and a hint of smokiness. Make yours according to your taste — sweet, dry, or perfect — and with either bourbon or rye. No matter what style you prefer, don't be afraid to use the bitters, as they make the drink fuller and more flavorful. ~Epicurious

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Manhattan Cocktail 
& Modern Variations

Makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients
2.0-oz (4 Tbsp) Rye Whisky (Dale DeGroff -- others use 2.5-oz/5 Tbsp)

1.0-oz (2 Tbsp) Italian Sweet Vermouth

2 dashes (1/2 tsp) Angostura® Bitters

Garnish:

1 marasca cherry

Tools:

Shaker

Bar spoon

Strainer


Notes: This drink is stirred, not shaken, to keep it limpid.

Preparation

Place ice cubes in the martini shaker to chill it.

To the shaker, add the rye whiskey and sweet vermouth; stir the ingredients very well until cold.

Put a generous dash of the Angostura® bitters into a chilled martini glass; swirl it around so that the bitters coat the glass.

Place the cherry in the chilled glass and strain the whiskey mixture over.

Variation(s): 
Big Apple Manhattan


Brandy Manhattan — Substitute brandy for the Rye Whisky.


Brooklyn Cocktail (ca 1908) — Use 1.5-oz Rye Whiskey, 1.5-oz Dry Vermouth, 2 tsp Maraschino Liqueur and 2 tsp Amer Picon (you might like to try this) or Torani Amer.

Brooklyn Cocktail (ca 1927) — Use 1.5-oz Rye, 0.75-oz Dry Vermouth and 2 tsp each Maraschino and Amer Picon.


Central Park Manhattan


Champagne Manhattan — Use 1-oz blended whiskey, 0.25-oz sweet vermouth, 1 dash aromatic bitters, and fill with champagne.

Cuban Manhattan — Substitute dark rum for the Rye Whisky.


Dry Manhattan — Use dry vermouth instead of the sweet vermouth. Also, substitute a lemon twist for the maraschino cherry garnish.


*Emerald Cocktail — Use Irish Whiskey instead of the Rye, the Italian vermouth, and substitute Orange Bitters for the Angostura® Bitters.


International Cocktail — View American Whiskey Manhattans.


Irish Manhattan 


*Jack Daniel's® Manhattan — View American Whiskey Manhattans.
—Jack Daniel's®


Maker's Mark® Manhattan, Maker's Mark® Chairman Emeritus, Bill Samuels, Jr,

Manhattan East — View American Whiskey Manhattans.

Manhattan Invertito (Inverted) — Use 0.75-oz Rye whiskey, 1.5-oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, and 0.75-oz dry vermouth. If available, substitute 1 dash Bonal Gentiane-Quina for the Angostura Bitters.
—TJ Siegal of Spasso


*Millionaire's Manhattan


Paris Manhattan — Use 2 parts Bourbon or Straight Rye Whiskey, 1 part St. Germain, and 1/2 part dry vermouth with the 2 dashes bitters. Strain into a coupe or Martini glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
—St-Germain

Perfect Manhattan

Red Manhattan — Use 2.5-oz Absolut Kurant, 0.75-oz Saint-Raphaël, 2 dashes of Angostura® Bitters and garnish with a cherry. If  Saint-Raphaël is hard to find, Carpano Punt e Mes makes a spicy Manhattan.
—Dale DeGroff


*Royal Manhattan


Saratoga Cocktail — Use 1-oz rye and 1-oz Remy Martin Cognac with the Sweet vermouth and Angostura Bitters. Garnish with a half  lemon wheel.


Slippery Slope, Tona Palomino, formerly Trenchermen, Chicago

St-Germain® Manhattan, Josh Durr


Tequila Manhattan — Substitute tequila for the whiskey and use only half the sweet vermouth. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.


The Black Manhattan — With the 2.0-oz (4 Tbsp) rye, add 0.25-oz (1.5 tsp) Black strap rum. Substitute 0.75-oz (1.5 Tbsp) Averna amaro for the sweet vermouth. Use 2 dashes (0.5 tsp) Scrappy’s Chocolate bitters. Garnish with an orange twist.
—Scrappy's Bitters, Seattle, WA

White Manhattan — Substitute White Whiskey for the Rye, Lillet Blanc for the Sweet Vermouth, and Orange Bitters for the Angostura. Garnish with orange peel or twist.

© Tina Rupp via Food & Wine

Wry Manhattan, Cowboy Ciao, Scottsdale, AZ - 2005 

You might like:
10 Places for Manhattans in NY City via Imbibe Magazine (Feb 2012)

Kevin Sintumuang, 'The Manhattan Project' (The Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2012).

Last Updated 20 December 2015