What is a proper Manhattan?

What is a proper Manhattan? - Pink and White I M a Little Print Textile

I've ordered these a few times, and had wildly varying results - hardly surprising, given the general lack of training among bartenders around these parts, but confusing none the less!

So now I'm curious: what should a Manhattan be composed of?



Best Answer

A traditional Manhattan is two shots of rye or bourbon, one shot of sweet vermouth, a dash of bitters and a cherry, shaken and strained into a martini glass. I prefer on the rocks in a rocks glass, myself.

A perfect Manhattan is similar, but uses a half shot each of sweet and dry vermouth. They tend to be more interesting when paired with a higher quality whiskey.

I'm also a big fan of white whiskey (aka, high quality moonshine) in Manhattans.




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What is the difference between a Manhattan and a Perfect Manhattan?

An Old Fashioned is made with whiskey (bourbon or rye), bitters, and sugar; a Manhattan is traditionally made with rye whiskey and substitutes sweet vermouth for the sugar. A "Perfect Manhattan" adds yet another twist: halving the sweet vermouth into equal portions of sweet and dry vermouths.

What is a Perfect Manhattan made of?

Steps. Add the rye whiskey, dry vermouth, sweet vermouth and bitters into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass or cocktail glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

What is the original Manhattan?

Most likely an ode to the Scottish outlaw and folk hero, the Rob Roy Manhattan was created in 1894 by a bartender at the Waldorf Astoria located in Manhattan, New York City. The main defining ingredient of this drink is scotch whiskey - which is used instead of the traditional rye or bourbon whiskey.



Manhattan Cocktail Recipe




More answers regarding what is a proper Manhattan?

Answer 2

Standard pour (maybe a little extra) of your choice of whiskey (bourbon preferred) though brandy is also acceptable. Add a splash of sweet vermouth and a dash of bitters if you prefer. Then garnish with something, I prefer a cherry.

Answer 3

Manhattan's were originally made with Rye rather than Bourbon, but times change and the modern trend for the latter means that Rye often isn't the first choice. Cocktail supremo, David Wondrich, notes that a decent proof Bourbon will work just as well as Rye in an Manhattan.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Ann H, Hans D., Lukas Kloeppel, Chris Schippers