Use half sweet vermouth and half dry vermouth instead of all sweet.

Why you are pouring this tonight

The Perfect Manhattan is the Manhattan that has had a third ingredient tap it on the shoulder and quietly add a balance that the original recipe lacked. Equal parts sweet and dry vermouth instead of all sweet, with the rye or bourbon, and three dashes of Angostura. The drink for somebody who has spent a few years drinking Manhattans and has decided the original was almost right but not quite.

The two vermouths must be fresh. Vermouth is wine and goes off in two months in the fridge once opened. Use Carpano Antica for the sweet and Dolin Dry for the dry; the supermarket Cinzano is half the price and three-quarters of the wine. Use rye, not bourbon (Bulleit Rye, Rittenhouse, Sazerac); the spice in the rye is the entire point. Stir for forty seconds in a mixing glass with cold ice, never shake. Strain into a chilled coupe, two Luxardo cherries on a pick. Pair with the start of dinner, aged cheese, prosciutto, the first round of a long evening.

What changes from the Manhattan

30ml sweet vermouth becomes 15ml sweet + 15ml dry.

What to pour it alongside

Charcuterie, grilled meats, a steakhouse meal.

The recipe