Manhattan
Rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters stirred ice cold and served up with a cherry: New York's whiskey classic, and a famous origin story that cannot be true.
The most repeated story says the Manhattan was invented at New York's Manhattan Club for a banquet thrown by Jennie Jerome, Lady Randolph Churchill, to celebrate Samuel J. Tilden. Difford's Guide traces that tale to a 1945 newspaper column that dated the dinner to December 29, 1874, and to Walter Winchell, who in 1950 added that the club stood in the Jerome family's mansion. It is a myth. Jennie had given birth to Winston Churchill at Blenheim Palace in England about a month earlier (he was born November 30, 1874), and the club did not move into the Jerome mansion until 1899 (Difford's; Wikipedia calls the story "likely to be fiction")). The best lead, per Difford's, is the account of former Hoffman House bartender William F. Mulhall in 1923, who said a man named Black invented the drink at his place on Broadway below Houston Street in the 1860s; David Wondrich later found a George Black running a bar called the Manhattan Inn at 439 Broadway from 1874 to 1881. The earliest known mention in print is a "New York Letter" column of September 5, 1882, and the first full recipes appeared in 1884 (Difford's).
🇺🇸 This one is American
Rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters stirred ice cold and served up with a cherry: New York's whiskey classic, and a famous origin story that cannot be true.
🇨🇺 The original
The original daiquiri is three things shaken hard with ice: Cuban white rum, fresh lime juice and sugar, served straight up and very cold. See the Cuban Daiquiri recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Rye's spice against vermouth's sweetness
The 2 to 1 ratio lets the whiskey lead while the vermouth rounds off its edges; bitters tie the two together.
Served up, stirred
No ice in the glass, so the dilution is set entirely by the stir; 25 to 30 seconds lands near a quarter extra volume of water.
Step by step
- Step 1
Method: Stirred. Chill a coupe or Nick and Nora glass in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Pour the rye, vermouth and bitters into a mixing glass.
- Step 3
Fill the mixing glass three-quarters with ice cubes.
- Step 4
Stir smoothly for 25 to 30 seconds, until the mixing glass is frosty and the drink is silky and very cold.
- Step 5
Strain into the chilled glass.
- Step 6
Drop the cherry in (or express the orange peel over the top) and serve right away, while it is coldest.
Manhattan
Serves 1 · 1 drink · 3 min total
Drink
- 2 oz (60 ml) rye whiskey (90 to 100 proof)
- 1 oz (30 ml) sweet red vermouth
- 2 dashes aromatic bitters
- Ice cubes, for stirring
Garnish
- 1 dark cocktail cherry (or a strip of orange peel)
Method
- Method: Stirred. Chill a coupe or Nick and Nora glass in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Pour the rye, vermouth and bitters into a mixing glass.
- Fill the mixing glass three-quarters with ice cubes.
- Stir smoothly for 25 to 30 seconds, until the mixing glass is frosty and the drink is silky and very cold.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Drop the cherry in (or express the orange peel over the top) and serve right away, while it is coldest.
Adapted from the Manhattan spec in Wikipedia's infobox (50 ml rye whiskey, 20 ml sweet red vermouth, 1 dash Angostura, stirred and strained into a chilled glass with a cherry)) and the 2 to 1 rye to vermouth ratio of the "Classic Manhattan" listed on Difford's Guide (2 oz bottled-in-bond rye, 1 oz rosso vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura; a community recipe Difford's has not tested). We use 2 oz rye, 1 oz vermouth and 2 dashes bitters. en.wikipedia.org. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- A Perfect Manhattan splits the vermouth: 1/2 oz sweet and 1/2 oz dry. A Dry Manhattan uses dry vermouth and a lemon twist.
- Bourbon works and makes a softer, sweeter drink; most early recipes used rye (Wikipedia notes Canadian whisky stood in during Prohibition).
- Our math: about 1.9 US standard drinks, assuming 100-proof rye and 16% vermouth.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Jennie Churchill invented it at a Manhattan Club party. Documented as a myth: she was in England after Winston's birth on November 30, 1874, and the club was not in the Jerome mansion until 1899 (Difford's; Wikipedia: "likely to be fiction").
- A bartender named Black invented it. Disputed: based on one bartender's memory, written in 1923, about 40 years later (Difford's); it is the best lead, not proof.
- The earliest mention is 1882. Documented by Difford's (The Olean Democrat, September 5, 1882).
- Rye, not bourbon. Disputed in practice: early recipes favored rye; Difford's own sweet Manhattan blends bourbon and rye.
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