Manhattan
60 ml Rye whiskey, 30 ml Sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 1 Maraschino cherry
Photo: Sazerac - Cambridge, MA · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 360 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 360 ml line. Rye whiskey - Cognac is the older way, and a mix of the two is a lovely compromise
- 6 cubes Sugar - Or a barspoon of simple syrup
- 18 dashes Bottle Eighteen quick shakes of the bottle - each a few drops, about a millilitre. Peychaud's bitters
- 6 dashes Bottle Six quick shakes of the bottle - each a few drops, about a millilitre. Absinthe - For rinsing the glass, never for the drink
- 6 twists Lemon twist (optional)
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
- Rinse a chilled rocks glass with absinthe, stir the rest with ice, and strain in without ice.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 360 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.
- Chill a rocks glass in the freezer and put a second glass in it as a lid, so it stays cold.
- Put a dash of absinthe in the chilled glass and swirl it round until the inside is coated, then tip the extra away.
- In a mixing glass, muddle the sugar cube with the Peychaud's and a splash of water until it has dissolved.
- Add the rye and plenty of ice, and stir for 30 seconds.
- Strain into the absinthe-rinsed glass without ice, and squeeze a lemon twist 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.
Sazerac
This is New Orleans in a glass, and officially the city's native cocktail. It began in the 1830s as a cognac drink made by a pharmacist called Antoine Peychaud, became a rye drink when the phylloxera blight wiped out French vineyards, and picked up its aniseed rinse along the way. The whole thing is served without ice in a small glass that has been perfumed rather than filled with absinthe, which is the trick that started the fashion.
Getting it right
The glass is as much of the recipe as the spirit. Rinse it, tip the absinthe out, and never pour more in - a mouthful of aniseed is not what you are after. Keep everything as cold as you can manage: a frozen glass, ice straight from the freezer, and one decisive stir rather than three fussed ones. And use a lemon twist rather than an orange one, however tempting the alternative.
Tasting notes
Aniseed on the nose, spicy rye underneath, and a dry, aromatic finish that lingers. It is a serious drink with a soft spot - the smell of it alone is worth making one for.
More Rye whiskey cocktails
Old Pal
30 ml Rye whiskey, 30 ml Campari, 30 ml Dry vermouth, 1 Lemon twist
Pepper & Rye
50 ml Rye whiskey, 100 ml Dr Pepper, 10 ml Lime juice, 1 dash Angostura bitters, 1 Maraschino cherry