Manhattan
Whiskey, vermouth, New York poise.
Rye whiskey, sweet red vermouth and a touch of Angostura, stirred and served ice-cold. The spicy character of rye is rounded by the sweetness of vermouth: an essential classic, smooth and assertive at once.
- IBA · The Unforgettables
- Aperitif
- Stirred
- Glass
- Cocktail glass
- Method
- Stirred
- Strength
- Strong
- Time
- 3 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Ice
- No ice
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Rye whiskey
50 ml
-
Sweet red vermouth
20 ml
-
Angostura bitters
1 dash
Garnish
- Maraschino cherry
Proportions
How to make
- Chill a cocktail glass.
- Fill a mixing glass with ice.
- Pour the rye whiskey.
- Pour the sweet red vermouth.
- Add a dash of Angostura bitters.
- Stir well.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
The story
Origins
ProbableA plausible account, without definitive proof.
The Manhattan is considered one of the first modern cocktails, as it added vermouth to the old whiskey cocktail. Its first known mention dates to September 1882, in an Olean, New York newspaper describing a new mix of whiskey, vermouth and bitters; the first full recipe appears in O.H. Byron's 1884 guide. The most famous story places its birth at the Manhattan Club in 1874, at a banquet for Samuel J. Tilden hosted by Jennie Jerome, Winston Churchill's mother: it has been debunked, as she was in England at the time. According to bartender William F. Mulhall, writing in 1923, the inventor was instead a man named Black who kept a bar on Broadway just below Houston Street.
Taste profile
- Strong
- 4 out of 5
- Sweet
- 2 out of 5
- Herbal
- 2 out of 5
- Bitter
- 1 out of 5
