Warning: This post is about alcohol. If you struggle to drink with moderation or suffer from addiction, know that you are not alone. Please skip this post and join us back here next week. We’ll be waiting for you. If you need help, check out this website. May the Lord bless and strengthen you, friend.
Into The Blue is about finding joy in simple pleasures. One of those pleasures is a good cocktail.
Today, I want to talk about something that brings me great joy, so much so that I have to be disciplined about the partaking. That something is the Manhattan cocktail. A great Manhattan is a masterpiece of flavor, a beautiful concoction, a magic elixir. It demands to be admired and savored slowly, sip by glorious sip.
Another wonderful thing about the Manhattan is how easy it is to make. When I first started trying Manhattans, their enchanting elegance and flavor convinced me that this drink must be an intricate affair. But in fact it is composed of just three ingredients in a simple 2-1-2 ratio. That simplicity made the Manhattan the first cocktail I could reliably make myself by memory.
This leads me to a very important caveat. I am not a professional mixologist. I’m just a learner. If you want to sit under a master, I recommend Cocktails with Suderman, whose Substack is really wonderful. If you want expert (and fun) advice on making Manhattans, also check out Anders Erickson’s YouTube videos on the Classic Manhattan and Manhattan variations.
But if you would enjoy some musings from a fellow learner, then read on.
Prolegomena – The Holy Trinity of a Great Cocktail
Now before we really get started on the Manhattan, though, I want to say a few words about cocktails in general. I have been observing great bartenders, distillers, and brewers. What I have noticed is that they all bring three things to their work, which together form the foundation of an excellent cocktail, spirit, beer, cider, and so on.
This holy trinity is love, skill, and pride. We are accustomed to thinking that quality ingredients and the proper recipe are what matters, and of course these are key. But before that, and undergirding the whole affair, is someone who prepares and presents the concoction with love, skill, and pride.
What if they have skill but are otherwise a miserable narcissist? Well, they might have flair, they might prepare a technically perfect cocktail, but something is lost. By some spiritual principle I don’t understand, a cocktail tastes much better if the preparer is motivated by a desire to delight the receiver and by pride that what they are doing is meaningful and important. This passionate trinity infuses the cocktail with joy.
The Manhattan
Okay, so what is the Manhattan? Well, it is a classic whiskey cocktail dating to the mid- to late-1800’s. Folks who know their stuff say it is closely related to the Old Fashioned.1 This has a certain logic to me because the Old Fashioned is my other favorite cocktail, and whiskey is the star of both. Basically, the Manhattan is kind of an Old Fashioned in which vermouth replaces the sugar. But as a maker of cocktails, I find the Manhattan much simpler to prepare.
Why is it called a Manhattan? Nobody knows for sure. The cocktail has multiple origin myths, but it appears it was either created at New York City’s Manhattan Club or by a bartender named Mr. Black at a bar on Broadway and/or which may have been named the Manhattan Inn.23 So, anyway, it seems to have come from Manhattan.
The genius of the Manhattan is how brilliantly the three ingredients—whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters—play together. A quality Manhattan is Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for your tastebuds. The whiskey is the foundation, while the vermouth softens its edges, reduces its intensity, and accentuates its flavors. The bitters add depth and emphasize the oak notes of the whiskey.4 Together, they offer a complex and pleasing aroma and taste.
In a Manhattan, the quality of the ingredients makes or breaks the drink. With only three, they are all on full display. Aficionados dispute whether rye whiskey or bourbon are best (rye was apparently the original base spirit, with bourbon becoming the standard later), but just go with what you like. Rye brings intensity, bourbon sweetness. Angostura bitters are the gold standard, but you can play with this too, for example using orange or black walnut bitters to bring out different nuances.
And that reminds me. The other amazing thing about the Manhattan is that there are a million wonderful variations. Not a whisky person? Try barrel-aged gin. I love this – gin aged in whiskey barrels preserves the structure of the Manhattan but adds herbal notes. Like smokiness? Use Scotch or smoke the cocktail with a light wood like apple. The drink can also be delightful using a quality aged rum or tequila. Martini fan? Try the Perfect Manhattan, which uses a 1:1 mix of sweet and dry vermouth. Experiment.
Recipe
Okay, so how specifically do you make a Manhattan? Like I said before, it is remarkably simple. Below are instructions from my experience, but adapt based on what you have and what you like. You do you, boo.
Ingredients:
1. Whiskey (or alternative base spirit), 2 ounces (My favorites are Sagamore Spirit Double-Oak Rye or Woodford Reserve Double-Oaked Bourbon).
2. Sweet Vermouth, 1 ounce (I love Cocchi Vermouth di Torino).
3. Angostura Bitters, 2 dashes.
4. Maraschino cherry (My favorite is Luxardo, because I’m a diva).
5. Ice.
Directions:
1. Chill cocktail glass (The standard is a coupe glass but use what you have).
2. Pour whiskey, vermouth, and bitters into a mixer glass.
3. Add ice.
4. Stir together for 20-30 seconds. Try to look cool while stirring.
5. Strain into your cocktail glass.
6. Garnish with a cocktail cherry. Alternatively, use a lemon twist. (Some also like to twist an orange peel over the cocktail)
7. Take a moment to admire your creation.
8. Share with love and pride, or enjoy with love and pride.
What about you?
Have you tried a Manhattan before? Is it one of your favorites? What are your tips for a great Manhattan? What variations do you recommend? Where could I improve on this drink?
A Short Meditation
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
No matter how great the darkness that envelopes us, as long as we still have breath we are never cut off from God’s great love. We may be beaten down, we may be suffering, we may be chastised, but we are not forsaken.
If you feel his love today, full of promise, praise him. If you don’t, that’s okay. Sometimes life is hard. Seek out the signs of his love. It may be in a tiny flower’s first bloom, a child’s smile, or yes, even in the first sip of a dinner cocktail.
Take courage, God keeps his promises to those who place their hope in him. This is the sure lesson of Jesus’ resurrection. His compassions fail not.
Dylan Garret, “Manhattan,” Liquor.com, last modified October 17, 2023, https://www.liquor.com/recipes/manhattan-2/.
Simon Difford, “Manhattan cocktail history,” https://www.diffordsguide.com/g/1221/manhattan-cocktail/history
Dylan Garret, “Manhattan.”
Dylan Garret, “Manhattan.”
Now I have to make a Manhattan. Its just sounds delicious with the heat wave we got going on.
Tom recently brought sweet vermouth by accident when I asked for dry vermouth in the green bottle. His excuse is that he’s colorblind??!! So, I decided to make a cocktail with the sweet vermouth in the RED bottle and voila! A Manhattan was born one Saturday night. Very good! Enjoyed your post immensely. We should all meet up for drinks and dinner somewhere sometime soon!