Manhattan

Same family as an old fashioned, but vermouth does what sugar does there, which makes it a rounder and more complicated drink. Rye is traditional and better, because the vermouth is already sweet and rye pushes back against it.

The vermouth is the ingredient people get wrong. It's wine, it oxidizes, and a bottle that's been in the cupboard for a year is why most home Manhattans taste dull. Keep it in the fridge and buy small bottles.

Rye or bourbon

Rye. 2 oz rye, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura. The standard, and the better drink. The vermouth is already sweet and rye pushes back against it, so 2:1 stays balanced.

Bourbon. 2 oz bourbon, 3/4 oz sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura, plus a dash of orange bitters. Bourbon and vermouth are both sweet, so pull the vermouth back toward 3:1 and let the orange bitters do the drying. Otherwise it turns into dessert.

Garnish follows the whiskey: a cherry suits the bourbon version, an expressed orange peel suits the rye.

Tips

• Keep vermouth in the fridge once it's open, and finish it inside a month.
• 2:1 is the standard. 3:1 makes a drier, whiskey-forward version that suits a bigger rye.
• Bourbon works and makes a sweeter, softer drink. Once you've had it with rye you'll know why rye is the default.
• Chill the glass. A Manhattan served up warms fast.