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Old-Fashioned
Robert Simonson
1811 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
1,811
2 minutes
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Stir ingredients over ice until chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain into chilled coupe glass. Garnish with cherry.
My Brooklyn born and raised husband is a longtime Manhattan cocktail fan. Sometime during the 2016 Prez primary cycle when Lindsay Graham suggested if one started drinking during happy hour and had enough alcohol that Trump might start to make sense, we decided to put this cocktail recipe in our daily repertoire. Great with rye (hubby) or bourbon (me). We use just a tick less vermouth. And Amerena cherries. I like mine on rocks. Great drink. But did not work for that making sense thing.
I've tried every ratio (2:1, 3:1, 4:1) and then tripled the quantity, yet Trump still does not make sense. Even tried his clorox suggestion, but it overwhelmed the drink.
The best mnemonic for this recipe is remembering Manhattan's area code: 212
Try 12 drinks and 45 (the prez) will make at least a little sense.
Maker's Mark may be my favorite for this drink. I moved to NYC in my 20's and I like to keep certain recipes the way I learned them back then just for the sake of sanity!
--more apt to cook after one--or two.
A perfect Manhattan is made with both sweet (red) and dry (white) vermouth. 2 oz rye or bourbon, 1/2 oz sweet vermouth, 1/2 oz dry vermouth, 2 dashes bitters.
I think this ratio is a good one--maybe I'd back off a little on the vermouth if I had a really solid rye. I was told by a bartender one could split this between dry and sweet vermouth to add back something botanical--apparently, the original recipe was closer to that. Also, although some may scoff, I have sometimes added seltzer--let's say, half a can--to make it a little more summery when the weather is right.
I like to do 3 oz of whiskey (preferably Woodford Reserve), 1 oz of vermouth, a dash of Peychaud and a dash of Angostura bitters stirred with 2 ice cubes for 15-20 seconds. Put Luxardo cherry in the bottom of the martini glass with a bit of the syrup and pour the drink slowly over a spoon so as not to disturb the syrup in the bottom of the glass.
I may be alone here, but I prefer the less sweet and easy to fish out stemmed supermarket maraschino cherries. Luxardo and artisanal cherries are too sweet and jammy.
Try this: empty an inexpensive sherry into a saucepan and warm over medium heat. Add to it one pound of Demerara sugar and stir until it dissolves. Allow to cool and pour it back into the empty sherry bottle. Use in place of sweet vermouth. You’re welcome.
I tended bar in some classy places in Westchester County in NY and Fairfield County in CT so many years ago that the classic Manhattan was a standard along with Martinis, Whiskey Sours, Bloody Marys, Tom Collins, and Planter's Punch. The Manhattan is the one that stays with me as a "comfort beverage."
Recently, I've been going with a couple of different recipes. I been consistently use Orange Angostora Bitters and Dolin Rouge vermouth. However, for the whisky, I've been switching between Rittenhouse Rye, Red Bush Irish Whisky and Buffalo Trace Bourbon. All are delicious. Quite different, so I let my mood and the situation dictate the whisky.
If one uses a great vermouth like Carpano Antica Formula that is more robust, one can and should go with a 3 or 4 to 1 ratio imo. Also, as this vermouth is truly sweeter than others, rye is the preferred to bourbon choice. Woodford Reserve rye is quite good.
We alternate between Bulleit Rye and Canadian Club Reserve, with Dolin Rouge, and Hellas Orange Bitters. My wife likes going 50/50 with the rye and vermouth, but I do the standard version. This always kicks off dinner prep, and especially helped us forget who was in office before Joe.
Delicious with High West Double Rye, a decent rouge vermouth, and dried Mortimer cherries that have been soaked in rye our bourbon. Only issue is it's too good and you'll tend to tip them back too quickly,
Also love a cocktail with bourbon, vermouth and Campari. Boulevardier:-)
One half ounce of Benedictine makes this a perfect sipping cocktail.
Do yourself a favor and investigate the great range of Vermouths in the world. Antica Formula Vermouth di Torino for example. Berto rosso with it's lovely bitter note. Consider a mix of a great dry or extra dry Vermouth like the (dry) Austrian Alfred by Alois & Manfred with a quality rosso in a perfect Manhattan with a nice dry rye. Mix it up. Try a Wisconsin inspired (California) Brandy Manhattan, with it's golden sweetness, or cut that sweetness back with a 50/50 ratio of Cognac to Brandy
My pref is a little over 3:1 rye-to-vermouth, but it really depends on the whiskey and vermouth you’re using. I love Death & CO’s version, with Rittenhouse rye and a 50/50 mix of Dolin and Punt-e-Mes. I also like Bulleit rye with Carpano. Fun to play around with ingredients…
A real taste treat and one which beats every other recipe, and is simple: 2 units (oz or whatever) of Southern Comfort 1 unit of sweet Vermouth Couple of cherries A teaspoon or so of cherry juice optional -- a shake of bitters, but it without that for the first couple. I don't buy bitters any more. All over ice. Beats every other Manhattan recipe I've made.
When I asked a bartender at Ruth’s Chris 3 years ago what was his favorite drink, he said Manhattan. I understood why immediately. 25 minutes of bliss, especially with rye and nice bitters. The glass you drink it in gives you as much pleasure as the quality of the rye. For me it’s either a martini glass, or a coupe’. Swirled with ice for 30 seconds topped off with a Luxardo cherry. True pleasure.
Traverse City distillery has a cherry infused bourbon that will make an exquisite Manhattan. If you can't find their product locally, it is available by mail order. The bourbon is great on its own also! Cheers!
Luxardo cheeries are terrible. Waxy, with an unpleasant mouthfeel and a sickly sweet syrup. A much better domestic recommendation is Tillen Farm's Merry Maraschinos or Bada Bings.
The 2 to one ratio seems very sweet. I prefer a 3 or even a 3.5 ratio of rye to sweet vermouth. Over the years I have found bourbon a little sweet so opted for rye. Here Rittenhouse the choice. Great value and with a little bitters topped with a good cherry just perfect. In interest of full disclosure I like mine on the rocks Small shaker and a sidecar
Left the cherries out and experimented with pickled baby Bella mushrooms for a rye Manhattan. Love it during chilly nights!
Am I the only one who refrigerates rye (and gin, for martinis) to minimize the wateriness from melted ice?
Go ahead, make a Rob Roy by substituting scotch for the bourbon or rye. So delicious.
We grew up in Milwaukee. Make ours a brandy manhattan, please.
I've lived in Milwaukee for 40 plus years. What is the obsession with brandy?
Try smoking the glass before adding the ingredients, it is amazing how much flavor that adds! A kit for smoking glasses can be found at Etsy.
Ah the GREAT MANHATTAN 1 is not enough and 2 are to many
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