Manhattan

2 oz Rye (or bourbon)
1 oz Sweet vermouth
2 ds Bitters, Angostura
1 Cherry, Luxardo (as garnish)
Instructions

Stir, strain, straight-up, cocktail glass, garnish.

Notes

Some recipes call for only 3/4 oz of vermouth for a stiffer, less sweet Manhattan. Use Carpano Antica make a complex and interesting version.

Yields Drink
Year
1887
Authenticity
Altered recipe
Creator
Jerry Thomas, The Bar-Tender's Guide, or earlier.
Source reference

Gary Regan, The Joy of Mixology

Quickstart
Classic cocktails
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(93 ratings)
From other users
  • Better with bourbon
  • Always with Rye, the spicier the better!
  • Personal favorite: 2 oz Bulleit, 1/2 oz Carpano Antica, 1 ds Fee Brothers, 1 bs Luxardo maraschino liqueur, Luxardo cherry garnish.
  • Bit too strong for cheap bourbon
  • I had my first Manhattan in The Club Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park in New York City. My Preference: Rittenhouse 100 Rye BIB with Cocchi Vermouth di Torino - Served on the Rocks
  • 2.5oz Rittenhouse 1oz Carpano Antica Formula 2 dashes Angostura
  • Very nice. Want to try Perfect (half Dry/Half sweet vermouth) at some point.
  • Along the Bourbon Trail Sub 1 oz vermouth with 1/2 oz sweet + 1/2 oz dry Garnish with lemon twist
  • Variation: a Perfect Manhattan, 2oz rye, 1/3oz sweet vermouth, 2/3oz dry vermouth, orange bitters. A less sweet, more interesting version.
Similar cocktails
christina in tacoma commented on 10/14/2011:

I had almost given up on Manhattans, until an awesome bartender made me one with Black Maple Hill Bourbon and Carpano Antica...

Beverage Nerds commented on 1/12/2012:

For our use: Maker's Mark bourbon, Carpano Antica sweet vermouth. Served on the rocks.

Sarar810@gmail.com commented on 10/14/2012:

Irish-Scots Manhattan variation: Use Irish whiskey (Jameson) and a heavy rinse (small puddle) of Islay Scotch (Lagavulin 16), plus a 3rd dash of Angostura. (Editor's note: posted on behalf of jughead to consolidate Manhattan recipes.)

tophat665 commented on 4/13/2013:

Finest kind. I prefer to make it with a half and half mix of Noilly Pratt Dry and Carpano Antica sweet vermouth, 1:4 with a mix of ryes (Pepper's 1776 and Old Overholt is nice) with orange and angostura bitters, and a lemon twist as well as the cherry.

Cocktailian commented on 4/15/2013:

Have you tried one w/ Maker's 46? That, Carpano Antica, and Bittercube Cherry Bark Vanilla Bitters makes the most perfect Bourbon Manhattan

J.S-g. commented on 5/23/2016:

Tonight I tried a Perfect Manhattan with Bulleit Rye, Vermouth del Professore Rosso and Vermouth la Canellese along with one dash of Angostura and one dash of Peychaud's. Very nice, indeed.

jmedlong commented on 7/06/2018:

Tequila variant - Substitute 2oz reposado tequila for the whisky, and 2 dashes of Scrappy's Firewater Tincture for the bitters.

Iselle over Hawaii

2 oz Rum
1 oz Coffee (Dark, black, filtered or press)
1 oz Cola (not diet)
Instructions

Stir with ice, strain, serve.

Notes

Hawaiian golden rum balances well, darker might be even better. Freezer-cooled rum limits dilution by ice. Use fresh-ground Kona if at all possible, with its crisp acidity. Some prefer less coffee in favor of cola (depending on your java).

History

August 2014. Locally sourced, of course, even when hunkered down.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Your original creation
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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Rimbaud's Right Hand

1 oz Grapefruit Vodka
1 oz Parfait Amour
1 oz Aperol
1 oz Lemon juice
1 oz Pineapple juice
1 oz Egg white
4 dr Rose water
Instructions

Shake everything except rose water in dry cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake, shake, shake, shake. Pour into cocktail glass. Drizzle with rose water.

History

This is a riff on Rimbaud's Left Hand which I and no one else I know loves. I replaced the absinthe and benedictine with grapefruit vodka and parfait amour.

Yields Drink
Year
2013
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Jenn Peterson
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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Maple Leaf

2 oz Bourbon
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice
1⁄2 oz Maple syrup
Instructions

Shake and serve up.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Unknown
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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Jubilant

1 1⁄2 oz Gin, Beefeater
3⁄4 oz Bénédictine
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice (scant (3/8 oz))
1⁄2 oz Orange juice (scant (3/8 oz))
1 Egg white
Instructions

Dry shake, shake, strain into a coupe.

Yields Drink
Year
1937
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
J. Perosino
Source reference

https://euvs-vintage-cocktail-books.cld.bz/1937-Cafe-Royal-Cocktail-Boo…

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(3 ratings)
From other users
  • Pretty good balance.
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Zachary Pearson commented on 5/11/2021:

Curated this. Difford's is pretty good with citing the creators of modern drinks, but not so good about running down older ones. A couple of seconds of searching led me to Cocktail Virgin Slut and to little surprise, I found Fred had done all the work. Updated the link, slightly curated the citrus per the ratios. Thanks,  Zachary

Craig E commented on 5/11/2021:

Curated further to correct the typo in the name!

Town Crier

1 oz Calvados (Or other aged apple brandy)
1 oz Añejo rum (I used Barbancourt 8 Year)
1⁄2 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Punt e Mes
1⁄2 oz Bénédictine
2 ds Peychaud's Bitters
1 twst Lemon peel (As garnish)
Instructions

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice, and garnish with a lemon twist.

History

At Loyal Nine, I was removing an apple brandy drink off the menu so I needed one to replace it as a straight spirits drink. I went with a New Orleans feel akin to a Vieux Carré with aspects taken from Boston's own 1919 Cocktail. Instead of splitting the apple brandy with whiskey or agave which I have done in the past, I opted for an aged rum. I had been considering a Green Point combination of Punt e Mes and Yellow Chartreuse since those flavors both work well with Calvados, but I opted for Benedictine as the liqueur for it worked better here and did not get as lost as Yellow Chartreuse did. Finally, the name refers to a local who sometimes came into the restaurant before we open asking for a job (everything from taking out our trash to cooking for us) or for free food, but later had taken to coming in during service and yelling gibberish. Telling the town crier that he had to use his quiet voice scared him away, but this tribute here to remind us of this important job during Colonial history remains.

Yields Drink
Year
2016
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Loyal Nine, Cambridge, MA
Source reference

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2016/02/town-crier.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(8 ratings)
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Oaxacan Smash

1 1⁄2 oz Tequila (I used blanco but a reposado would work and be Phil Ward-approved)
1⁄2 oz Mezcal
1⁄2 oz Agave syrup (1:1 Simple syrup will also work)
3 wdg Lime (Half of a medium-sized lime)
2 lf Sage
1 spg Sage (Sage tip as garnish)
Instructions

Muddle lime wedges and sage leaves in simple syrup, add the rest of the ingredients and ice, and shake. Double strain into a rocks glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a sage tip.

Notes

Comes across akin to a Tommy's Margarita with sage notes adding complementary herbal accents to the agave distillates.

History

I was inspired by the sage plants in my garden in creating a drink of the day at Loyal Nine back in 2017. I thought about how well agave and sage pair together such as in Jacques Bezuidenhout's Sagerac. Instead of deciding on tequila or mezcal, I opted for both in similar proportions as Phil Ward's Oaxacan Old Fashioned. For a format, I opted for a Smash akin to Dale Degroff's Whiskey Smash.

Yields Drink
Year
2017
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Loyal Nine, Cambridge, MA
Source reference

http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2017/08/oaxacan-smash.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(2 ratings)
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Jaguar God

1 oz Mezcal, Sombra
1 1⁄2 oz Zucca
1⁄2 oz Ancho Reyes Verde chile liqueur
1⁄2 oz Pomegranate Liqueur, Pama
1 Grapefruit peel (garnish)
Instructions

Stir (benefits from a long stir count), strain into old fashioned glass with a large cube or sphere. Garnish with an expressed grapefruit swath.

Yields Drink
Year
2019
Authenticity
Your original creation
Source reference

https://youtu.be/AQwmwWD1s-0

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(8 ratings)
From other users
  • Subbed .5oz of the Zucca for Amaro Sibilla, incredibly complex and delicious
  • Good sweet/smoke/bitter/spice balance. Strong. (Mezcal is 80 proof, Zucca 60 proof, Ancho Reyes is 80 proof, and Pama is 34 proof.)
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Shawn C commented on 4/18/2023:

Great combo, 4.5 out of 5. The Zucca bitter and Mezcal smoky earthiness blend seamlessly with the heat and slightly smoky/leather/umami of the ancho liqueur. The PAMA provides some ripe fruit and sweetness that rounds it out. Deep dark/rich color makes for a great presentation over a rock. Ancho Reyes has a way of tying things together and turning them up a notch, sort of the St. Germain of this decade.

Downfall

1 1⁄2 oz Gin, Bombay Sapphire
3⁄4 oz Dark Crème de Cacao
1 1⁄2 oz Grapefruit juice
1⁄2 oz Mint syrup
1⁄4 oz Saffron bitters (Either saffron bitters or liquid saffron)
1⁄4 oz Orange flower water
6 ds Lemon bitters
Instructions

Shake with ice and strain into a frozen coupe glass.

History

I was in a mood and this expressed it.

Yields Drink
Year
2021
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Carl N.
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(2 ratings)
From other users
  • Subbed for the mint syrup with so-so mint liqueur, and it was still quite nice. — ★★★★★
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Fireman's Sour

1⁄2 t Sugar
2 oz Light rum
1⁄2 oz Lime juice
1⁄2 oz Grenadine
Instructions

Shake, strain into a small tumbler, garnish with fruit in season.

Notes

Can be topped with soda.

Yields Drink
Year
1917
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Hugo Ensslin
Source reference

https://euvs-vintage-cocktail-books.cld.bz/1917-Recipes-for-Mixed-Drink…

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(4 ratings)
Similar cocktails
Zachary Pearson commented on 5/08/2021:

Curated this. Difford's has the date wrong - the earliest reference I could find was the 1917 (2nd edition) of Hugo Ensslin's book. Updated link, made minor changes (no egg white, limes were smaller, added sugar) to conform to cited link. This drink is right in the middle of the Grenadine explosion in the mid 1910's, so I'd think that it was created to show off the bright red color of pomegranite grenadine. Thanks,  Zachary

yarm commented on 5/09/2021:

Usually this was called the Bacardi Cocktail even when it didn't contain Bacardi. It was 1936 that Bacardi won the court case to forbid a "Bacardi Cocktail" to use any other rum. Obviously, this Ensslin recipe pre-dates that lawsuit, but the Bacardi Cocktail published in 1913 pre-dates Ensslin so perhaps he was renaming it so as not to confuse the consumer. He had to know of it since it was rather popular back in the day.

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