Like Most Cocktails the origin story of Manhattan is veiled and uncertain. Nobody really knows exactly when it was created but the most credible puts its creation at New York‘s Manhattan Club somewhere in the vicinity of 1880. Give or take a couple of years. If that is the case then the 2:1 ratio the cocktail has today was slightly different than the one it had at its inception.

According to the club’s history which was chronicled in Henry Watterson’s History of the Manhattan Club: A Narrative of the Activities of Half a Century, the cocktail called for equal portions of Sweet Vermouth cancan then further estimate that the original recipe was made with Rye Whiskey which was the preferred whiskey of the Northern States at that time. Much like everything else, this cocktail changed over time with the 2:1 ratio yielding a much more balanced drink, the orange bitters gave way to angostura to kick up the spice.

It’s a note worth making that although a Bourbon Manhattan is quite popular, the original was done with Rye. And it’s not that accurate to say that Rye should be used just to be annoyingly exacting in recreating classic drinks. Rye is a much spicer style of whiskey and balances the flavor of sweet vermouth much better. Also, Sweet vermouth selection is key, while Carpano Antica is very popular and many bartenders swear by it, unless you’re using overproof Rye such as Rittenhouse, this vermouth will overpower the main spirit, killing the cocktail. Carpano is also old-style Italian vermouth in the “vermouth alla viniglia” style which contains too much vanilla and will yield a strange-tasting manhattan. If you want to add a few dashes of Orange bitters to make a more historic version go ahead, but make sure that you garnish with a twist of lemon, to knock up the citrus notes.