Step by step

Method

10 steps

1. 1

   Add rye, vermouths and bitters to a cocktail shaker with ice and stir (if you want to be uber-traditional about it) or shake them together.

2. 2

   Strain ice as you pour into a rocks or martini glass, or pour ice and drink into a tumbler.

3. 3

   Garnish and enjoy slowly because this is bonkers potent.

4. 4

   Rye vs. bourbon and other whiskeys from a non-expert, i.e. corrections welcome: American rye whiskey must be distilled from at least 51% rye, but rye does not, by definition, have to be made in America.

5. 5

   Canada produces a lot of rye whiskey, but by their own regulations.

6. 6

   Bourbon must be distilled from at least 51% corn.

7. 7

   It must be made in America and is most often made in Kentucky.

8. 8

   Tennessee whiskey, basically bourbon whiskey from Tennessee, uses something called the Lincoln County Process in which whiskey, after it is distilled, is filtered through sugar-maple charcoal, making it amazing.

9. 9

   American rye tends to be more dry and spicy than bourbon, which is fuller in body with a vanilla/caramel vibe.

10. 10

    Rye is more traditional in the Manhattan cocktail, largely because Manhattan was a rye town when the drink was hatched in the late 1800s. How did I do?