Manhattan
60 ml Rye whiskey, 30 ml Sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 Maraschino cherry
Old Pal
Rye, Campari and dry vermouth in equal parts - the Negroni's drier brother.
Classic
Easy
3 min
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 180 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 180 ml line. Rye whiskey
- 180 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 180 ml line. Campari
- 180 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 180 ml line. Dry vermouth - Dry, not sweet - which is the whole difference from a Boulevardier
- 6 twists Lemon twist
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Stir equal parts over ice and strain into a chilled coupe.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 540 ml of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Fill a mixing glass with ice.
- Add the rye, the Campari and the dry vermouth in equal measure.
- Stir for 25 seconds - this is a strong drink and it wants the dilution.
- Strain into a chilled coupe and twist a strip of lemon peel over the top.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Old Pal
Invented in 1920s Paris by a sports writer called William "Sparrow" Robertson, who made it for his old pal, the editor of the New York Herald's Paris edition. Take a Boulevardier, swap the sweet vermouth for dry, and you have this: leaner, sharper, and drier than anything else in the same family.
Getting it right
Equal parts, stirred, cold glass - the recipe is not complicated, so the details are everything. Because there is no sweetness in the drink at all, the quality of the vermouth shows: use one that is fresh (vermouth goes flat in the bottle within weeks of opening, and there is no rescuing it) and keep it in the fridge. Rye rather than bourbon gives the drink its peppery edge, and the lemon twist is not decorative - the oil over the surface is what keeps the first sip bright.
Tasting notes
Bitter orange and dry herbs, rye pepper behind them, and a long, clean, grown-up finish. It is the aperitif to reach for when a Negroni feels like too much.
A Boulevardier is the same drink with sweet vermouth, which makes it rounder and considerably more cheerful.
More Rye whiskey cocktails
Pepper & Rye
50 ml Rye whiskey, 100 ml Dr Pepper, 10 ml Lime juice, 1 dash Angostura bitters, 1 Maraschino cherry
Sazerac
60 ml Rye whiskey, 1 cube Sugar, 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters, 1 dash Absinthe, 1 Lemon twist