Perfect Manhattan Cocktail Recipe

Updated Jun 1, 2026 · 1 min read

Elevate your cocktail game with the perfect Manhattan recipe! This timeless classic has long been a favorite among cocktail enthusiasts, celebrated for its rich, balanced flavors.

Manhattan Cocktail Recipe

Many drinkers will agree that the standard Manhattan is a perfect cocktail: simple, balanced and elegant. But the Perfect Manhattan is in fact a separate, though closely related, drink; the “Perfect” in the drink’s name refers not to a cocktail made perfectly (though that is, of course, the aim) but rather to the use of two different styles of vermouth in “perfect”—which is to say, equal—proportions. Manhattan Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients

2 ounces rye whiskey
1/2 ounce dry vermouth
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Garnish: brandied cherry or a lemon twist

Steps

Add the rye whiskey, dry vermouth, sweet vermouth and bitters into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass or cocktail glass.
Garnish with a brandied cherry or a lemon twist.

(Manhattan Cocktail Recipe)