Recipe: Perfect Manhattan (serves one)
- 2 1/2 oz. whiskey
- 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
- 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
- 2 dashes (= 1/4 tsp) Angostura bitters or Margerum amaro
- lemon peel
Stir liquid ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with lemon peel.
You can decide for yourself whether you think this is the perfect Manhattan or not, but “perfect” is cocktail lingo for a drink that has equal parts dry and sweet vermouth. You can order a perfect Martini or perfect Rob Roy as well. We prefer the Perfect Manhattan made with Margerum amaro in place of the traditional Angostura bitters, for a sweeter and smoother drink — but it’s good either way. For another variant, try the Sweet Manhattan.
