Learn how to make a Manhattan
Originally a cocktail contained a spirit, sugar, water, and bitters. (Today such a drink is often called an “Old Fashioned”). Here at the Drinking Whale we will feature many cocktails that diverge wildly from such formulations, but for the first featured cocktail I contribute to the site I have chosen a cocktail that captures the essence of the cocktail’s origin, if not the original recipe.
I would like to call everyone’s attention to the Manhattan. A Manhattan is typically a combination of a whiskey, sweet vermouth, and a dash of bitters, garnished with a cherry. Ratios vary greatly from recipe to recipe, as do service style.
I have found the best recipe to be:
- 2-2.5 parts Rye Whiskey
- 1 part Sweet Vermouth
- High quality ice made from distilled water
- 3 Dashes Angostura Bitters
- 2 brandy cured cherry
Add the Rye and Vermouth to a shaker filled with the ice. Shake vigorously. In a low ball glass (rocks glass/ old fashioned glass) add the bitters and cherries. Strain the beverage into the glass, stir once and serve.
As the quality of Manhattans varies so widely from bar to bar, and the ones I make at home are always amazing, I feel very passionate about each decision I have made.
First, I selected Rye whiskey, not only because it is the traditional choice (the cocktail was developed in Manhattan for Winston Churchill’s mother, and Manhattan at that time was a Rye town), but because the aggressive burn, sweetness, and subtle bitterness of Rye create the correct flavor profile on which to build this cocktail. I have also found that Maker’s Mark (and, for that matter, most quality Bourbons), as well as Stranahan’s Rocky Mountain Straight Whiskey, make an excellent choices. Brandy is a popular substitute in, among other places, Wisconsin. I cannot support this substitution. The Rob Roy (a Manhattan made with Scotch) fails for me on two counts. First, Scotches vary so greatly in flavor profile that this substitution might work for some Scotches and not others. And second, if a Scotch is worth drinking, it is worth drinking neat.
The sweet vermouth is not a controversial choice, so I will just briefly say that I prefer it to dry vermouth because it plays the same roll sugar played in the original cocktail. People who claim not to like sweet drinks are full of shit, our bodies taste sweet because we are evolutionarily designed to hunt out those calories. (I have seen recipes for “Ruby Manhattans” that substitute port for the sweet vermouth, when I have the opportunity to sample that, I will report back.)
I have had good success with Angostura Bitters, so I have suggested them here, but many local producers are starting to produce a variety of bitters, and I encourage people to experiment and support local businesses.
I have given a recipe for brandy cured cherries because the maraschino cherries sold in the grocery are a color not found in the natural world, and thus scare me.
With respect to the procedure, I want to point out a couple things. First this cocktail should be shaken. While shaking might make the drink cloudy, which mixologists find undesirable, shaking will aerate the spirits and add tiny shards of ice, both of which make the drink taste much better.
Finally, I have given a recipe for the drink “up in a rocks glass.” This is an order I have begun to use with some frequency around Denver, and servers and bartenders have actually complimented me on it (more than once, no joke). They know what I know, the drink should not be served on the rocks and martini glasses are stupid.
I look forward to featuring more unusual cocktails in the future, but for now enjoy this most traditional and perfect of cocktails.
