Manhattan (1886 recipe)
Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 21.4% ABV ∙
This 1886-style Manhattan stirs bourbon with a heavier pour of sweet vermouth and a touch of maraschino liqueur, strained up into a cocktail glass. Silky and weighty on the tongue, with a plush, wine-soaked sweetness that gives way to a warm, faintly nutty finish and a lingering cherry echo.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir all ingredients with ice: Bourbon 30 mlRosso vermouth 60 mlMaraschino liqueur 5 ml
- Strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with a maraschino cherry
Tips
- Pre-chill the cocktail glass before straining so the drink stays cold without extra dilution from a warm glass.
- Stir over ice until well-chilled, roughly 30 seconds, so the vermouth's sweetness settles rather than sitting sharp on top.
- Measure the maraschino liqueur carefully; a small excess pushes the cherry note from accent to cloying.
History
The name "Manhattan (1886 recipe)" points to an early documented build of the Manhattan from the mid-1880s, part of a run of period recipes — printed in guides such as the 1887 Jerry Thomas Bartender's Guide — that show the drink's formula still settling in its first years, before the whiskey-vermouth-bitters ratio familiar today became fixed. These early versions sometimes added a dash of curaçao or absinthe alongside the whiskey, vermouth, and bitters, reflecting a period of experimentation rather than a single fixed recipe.
The Manhattan itself is generally placed in New York City, with its first detailed recipes appearing in print in the mid-1880s, though its exact creator and date are not reliably documented and the drink's origin is disputed among several claimants, including a persistent but doubtful story tying it to the Manhattan Club. What sets this 1886-era build apart from later standard versions is its use of maraschino liqueur alongside the base whiskey and sweet vermouth, a variation on the classic Manhattan proportions that appears in some of the earliest printed recipes before the simpler rye-vermouth-bitters formula became standard.
FAQ
What is in a Manhattan (1886 recipe)?
Bourbon, sweet (rosso) vermouth, and a touch of maraschino liqueur, stirred with ice and strained into a chilled cocktail glass with a maraschino cherry. This version uses noticeably more vermouth than bourbon, giving it a softer, more vermouth-forward character than a standard modern Manhattan.
What are common mistakes when making a Manhattan?
The most common mistake is under-chilling: stir over ice until the glass frosts, about 30 seconds, or the drink arrives warm and under-diluted. Over-pouring the maraschino liqueur is another, since a small excess turns the cherry note cloying; measure it rather than free-pouring. Shaking instead of stirring is a third, clouding a drink meant to be clear and silky.
What is a perfect Manhattan?
A Perfect Manhattan uses equal parts dry and sweet vermouth instead of all sweet vermouth, giving a drier, less sweet result. This 1886 recipe is not a Perfect Manhattan; it uses only sweet (rosso) vermouth, and in a heavier proportion than most modern versions.
What's in a dirty Manhattan?
A dirty Manhattan adds a splash of olive brine to a classic bourbon-and-vermouth Manhattan, usually garnished with an olive instead of a cherry. That is a different drink from this 1886 recipe, which has no olive brine and keeps the traditional maraschino cherry garnish.
