The Manhattan is the classic whiskey cocktail of New York: rye or bourbon stirred with sweet vermouth and a couple of dashes of bitters, served up in a stemmed glass with a cocktail cherry. Drier and more elegant than an Old Fashioned, it balances the spice of the whiskey against the herbal sweetness of the vermouth. One of the oldest cocktails still in the standard repertoire, it is named for the New York City borough.
The Manhattan appears in print by the 1880s and is widely held to have originated in New York City around the 1870s, in the early heyday of vermouth cocktails. A romantic and oft-repeated tale ties its creation to an 1874 banquet at the Manhattan Club said to honor Samuel Tilden, supposedly hosted by Winston Churchill's mother Jennie Jerome — but this story is demonstrably false, since Jennie Jerome was in England awaiting Winston's birth at the time, so it should be treated as folklore. What is solid is the borough namesake and the drink's documented late-nineteenth-century New York currency; the Manhattan Club itself has long claimed the drink, and it is one of a family of borough-named cocktails (Brooklyn, Bronx) from the era.
Smooth and rich, the warm spice of the whiskey wrapped in the bittersweet, herbal depth of sweet vermouth, with bitters tying the two together. It is silky rather than sharp, lightly sweet, and more complex than its three ingredients suggest. The cherry adds a sweet final note, and a good Manhattan finishes long and warm, with a faint botanical bitterness. Served well-chilled and undiluted in a stemmed glass.
The Manhattan is built by stirring, not shaking, because every ingredient is clear and spirit-based: stirring over ice chills and dilutes the drink to the right strength while keeping it brilliantly clear and silky, whereas shaking would froth and cloud it. Sweet (red) vermouth is the key partner — a fortified wine infused with herbs and botanicals and sweetened, it lowers the overall proof, adds a bittersweet herbal complexity, and bridges the whiskey and the bitters. The aromatic bitters add concentrated spice in just a few dashes. Proportions of roughly two parts whiskey to one part vermouth keep the spirit in the lead; stirring to the right dilution, then straining off the ice, gives the clean, cold, full-strength pour.
Variations
Rye gives the spicier, more traditional drink; bourbon makes it softer and sweeter. A 'perfect' Manhattan splits the vermouth between sweet and dry; a 'dry' Manhattan uses dry vermouth and a lemon twist or olive. Swapping in scotch makes a Rob Roy; brandy makes a Metropolitan; a Manhattan served on the rocks is simply 'on the rocks.' The garnish is classically a brandied or maraschino cherry, and some add a dash of the cherry's syrup for a touch more sweetness.
On the Palate
Where Manhattan sits in the American flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 1How it's made
6 steps · 5 min
- 11 min
Chill a coupe or martini glass with ice while you build the drink.
- 21 min
Fill a mixing glass with ice and add the whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters.
- 31 min
Stir steadily for about 30 seconds until well chilled and properly diluted.
Watch outStir, never shake — about 30 seconds over ice chills and dilutes it while keeping it crystal clear; shaking would froth it cloudy.
- 41 min
Discard the ice from the chilled serving glass.
- 51 min
Strain the cocktail into the glass.
- 61 min
Garnish with a cocktail cherry and serve straight up.
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