Perfect Manhattan

A Perfect Manhattan refers to a Manhattan with equal parts Dry Vermouth and Sweet Vermouth. It's not "perfect" because it's perfect, but because of the equal measures of the different types of Vermouth. You'll see this in Martinis and other mixed drinks with Vermouth in them.

A Manhattan is already a great Rye Whiskey based cocktail, and the "perfect" variety adds something a little bit more. It's worthwhile doing a side by side comparison of the two cocktails. See what you like best, whether it's the classic cocktail or the "Perfect" one, then go from there.

Total Time 3

Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

60 mL Rye Whiskey Bourbon works too
15 mL Dry Vermouth
15 mL Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters
Garnish with a cherry

Instructions

Add Rye, Dry Vermouth, Sweet Vermouth, and both Bitters to a mixing glass with ice. Stir until cold and everything is mixed together.
Strain into a Coupe glass.
Garnish and enjoy.

Notes

There are a variety of "perfect" drinks out there that have equal amounts of Sweet and Dry Vermouth. Most famously is probably the Perfect Martini. It's like this recipe, except a Martini.

Try comparing the Classic Manhattan to the Perfect Manhattan to see which you like most and how you like to take it. Better yet, compare the Classic Martini with a Perfect Martini as well. You'll be sure to have a good time!

A Few More Words on the Perfect Manhattan

As mentioned, “perfect” doesn’t refer to perfection, it refers to the fact that this recipe has equal parts Sweet and Dry Vermouth, while the original Manhattan only has Sweet Vermouth. Other than than, it’s pretty much the same drink. This makes the drink a little bit drier than the original with a few more crisp elements to it. For a lot of people, this may be quite welcome, especially for those who don’t like sugar in their cocktail. We here at What Cocktail Can I Make feel that the original Manhattan is a well balanced cocktail that’s not too sweet, but not everyone is going to agree with us! The Dry Vermouth still manages to smooth things out a little bit without adding additional sugar.

So give this a go if you want to try a slightly different spin on a classic. Who knows, it may become your new go to instead of a standard Manhattan!

Can I batch this cocktail and make a few?

Yes, you can, no problem. Just add extra ingredients to your mixing glass and stir everything together to serve. Just make sure everything is stirred well and nice and cold before you pour it add. Feel free to add a bit more ice if you need to.

If I make this cocktail in advance, can I serve it later?

Yes, that’s fine. Stir everything up and then leave the cocktail in the refrigerator to stay cool until it’s ready to serve. Just don’t leave the ice in the mixing glass when you leave the cocktail in the fridge, otherwise it will get too diluted.

What’s the best time for a Perfect Manhattan?

We mentioned when writing the recipe for the classic Manhattan that it’s simply a really good cocktail for standing up and walking around with. Of course that doesn’t really mean making one of these and going for a walk down the street with it! What we mean is it’s good for social situations when you’re standing up. We’re thinking situations like bars or parties.

As with the original Manhattan, we also put the Perfect Manhattan into an Autumn cocktail category. While you’re welcome (and encouraged) to drink Whiskey at any time of the year, we think it has a great Autumn quality to it. Gin is for Spring and Whiskey is for Autumn! Our opinion at least.

How strong is the Perfect Manhattan?

Since it has the same amount of Whiskey and the same amount of Vermouth (it’s just split between two varieties) as the original Manhattan, the Perfect variety has the same amount of alcohol as the classic variety. Being an older recipe, the original Manhattan (and therefore the Perfect Manhattan) has a fairly standard amount of alcohol in it; cocktails of this era (and because of that a lot of cocktails since) tend to follow a general formula with a similar amount of alcohol in them. This puts the Perfect Manhattan squarely in the middle of things as alcohol content goes.

What music or song goes the best with a Perfect Manhattan?

Here we’re going to stray away from the original recipe, but only very slightly. While the classic recipe harks back to the 1940’s and 1950’s, sitting in a dimly lit Jazz bar listening to Bebop Jazz. The Perfect Manhattan feels a little cleaner than the standard variety. The splitting of the Vermouth takes away some of the more bold and upfront flavours and splits everything up into fewer extremes. Because of this we’re going to say put the Perfect Manhattan with Smooth Jazz, as it’s a lot more mellow than the Bebop variety.

Here’s some more recipes for you to browse

We hope you liked your Reverse Manhattan. If you did, maybe you also want to browse a few more cocktail recipes to see what else you might like.

Top 10 Whiskey cocktail recipes: this is where we keep the best! We’ve selected the Whiskey cocktail recipes we like the best. See if you agree with us.

All Whiskey cocktail recipes: if you want more than ten cocktail recipes, take a look at all the Whiskey cocktail recipes we have to offer.

All Rye cocktail recipes: if you just want Rye cocktails, we’ve also made a subsection of recipes that are only made with Rye. Enjoy!