Bourbon Manhattan Cocktail

This classic bourbon Manhattan recipe is dedicated to my friend, Alex, in Maine, who loves the cocktail’s delightfully sweet taste when the bourbon and vermouth are properly balanced.

One day on Facebook, I asked the question: What cocktail do you want to see me make for the blog? I got some good answers and the one I chose for this week was the delightful bourbon Manhattan cocktail. When Alex proposed this recipe, I had already posted two variations of the Manhattan: whiskey and a Southern Comfort, so I asked him if he still wanted this perfect Manhattan.

He said yes.

So here it is! I love a good classic Manhattan and so did my mom so I always think of her when I make this classic cocktail.

I didn’t always like the taste of this cocktail. My two cocktails are the Cadillac margarita and the dirty martini.

What changed my mind was the show Mad Men. They drank so much bourbon, I had to go to the liquor store to pick up a bourbon nip (two ounce bottle). I poured it out and watched one of the episodes and that’s what started my love of making bourbon whiskey drinks like this one.

If you want to learn more about bourbon, read my comprehensive guide here.

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Helpful tips

• Although I like to use a cocktail shaker, you can also place the ingredients in a mixing glass and stir it with a cocktail spoon.
• Buy the best bourbon you can afford for this cocktail because in a cocktail like this since there are basically only 2 ingredients which means you can more easily taste the difference.
• If you can, get some fun bitters. I purchased Woodford Reserve flavored bitters. The package arrived with 4 different flavors: spiced cherry, orange, aromatic and chocolate. I’ve used them all and they’re delightful, but my favorite is spiced cherry. This recipe calls for 5 drops for two cocktails, but I usually use 10 for two drinks. You need to play around with the amount of bitters to see what suits you.
• If you don’t have fancy bitters, it’s perfectly fine to use Angostura or an orange bitters.
• You can serve this Manhattan straight up or on the rocks.  I like mine straight up and served in a martini glass.   My mother used to drink her Manhattans on the rocks.
• Whenever I use maraschino cherries as garnish, I rinse them off so the juice they are stored in doesn’t infiltrate the cocktail.
• If you’d like to, you can garnish this drink with an orange peel, but I like it with just a maraschino cherry.

How to make the bourbon Manhattan

Pre step

Get a cocktail shaker and fill it halfway with ice.  Also take out your glasses and 2 cherries for the garnish.  I happened to use one regular maraschino and a Luxardo cherry.

After you measure out each ingredient, pour it into the cocktail shaker.

Step one

Gather the ingredients – Kentucky straight bourbon, sweet vermouth and spiced cherry bitters.

Step two

Measure 4 ounces of bourbon.

Step three

Measure 2 ounces of sweet vermouth.

Step four

If you use Angostura bitters, shake 5 drops in the shaker. If you use Woodford Reserve bitters, which come with a dropper, squeeze 5 – 10 drops in the shaker.

You may have to play around with the amount of bitters, but I’ve found 5 drops per cocktail is perfect, especially when I use the spiced cherry flavor.

Step five

Cap the cocktail shaker and shake for 20 seconds. Place a big ice cube in the double old fashioned glass and leave the martini glass naked, although it was a chilled cocktail glass. Strain the contents between the two glasses.

Step six

For the finishing touch, place one cherry in each cocktail. Let’s see the martini glass filled with this famous cocktail.

Let’s look at an overhead view of the double old fashioned glass.

Here’s a vertical shot of the lovely drink.

I hope you enjoyed this bourbon Manhattan cocktail recipe.

Other delicious bourbon cocktails

• Bourbon cranberry cocktail
• Meatballs
• Bourbon sour
• Hot toddy
• Pomegranate Manhattan

And as always, may all your dishes/drinks be delish!

If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love the know what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!

Originally published August, 2016.