Name: Little Italy
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 52.5 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 22.5 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth; 15 ml Cynar/carciofo amaro

Little Italy
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Glass:

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 ³⁄₄ fl oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
³⁄₄ fl oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Cynar or other carciofo amaro

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish:

Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

This rye whiskey-based, Manhattan-like, bittersweet cocktail is a great digestivo.

View readers' comments

Variations/similar cocktails:

Piccola Italia

History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 2005 by Audrey Saunders for the opening menu of the Pegu Club in New York City, USA.

More cocktails by Audrey Saunders

Nutrition:

One serving of Little Italy contains 176 calories

Alcohol content:

1.8 standard drinks
28.33% alc./vol. (56.65° proof)
25.5 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 10 of 22 comments for Little Italy.
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jill andrews

14th April at 18:18

Excellent! Love the bitter edge.

Calvin Grant

6th March at 03:05

Wow, this is a good one! I used Cynar 70 and a long stir. Perfection.

Egg McKenzie

15th January at 21:36

well yes this is good. nice little bitterness to this manhattan.

Gareth Hives

8th January at 18:03

Maybe better in an old fashioned glass with ice, definitely was better with a little dilution. Just a smidge.

Simon Sedgley

6th September 2025 at 14:08

We love the original, classic recipe here but decided to go totally Italy and substituted il Moscato di Nonino Grappa for the Rye Whisky; we also substituted Amaro Nonino Quintessentia, 5ml Campari and two dashes of Orange Bitters for the Cynar. Maybe just another way to toast the azzura peninsula.

Simon Difford

6th September 2025 at 17:27

Perhaps "Piccola Italia"?
Very tasty! I prefer with a smidgen less grappa:
45 Moscato grappa
22.5 Rosso vermouth
10 Amaro Nonino
5 Red bitter liqueur
2 dash Orange bitters

1 reply

Dave D.

17th April 2025 at 00:05

Tried today with Old Grandad Bottled-in-Bond bourbon ….I think I prefer Rye…..but very good ….I added Old Grandad to my cabinet…

Simon Sedgley

17th February 2025 at 15:00

Much as we love Rye, with this one we usually go with Cognac instead. If it's Rye, we'll add a dash of orange bitters; if Cognac, orange zest is enough. A classic cocktail.

Andre Derailleur

5th September 2025 at 12:08

Instead of bitters I go for an Italian bitter liqueur: Campari or Select in place of the amaro. It’s my favourite manhattan variation.

Dave D.

17th April 2025 at 00:06

I’ll have to give that a try! Sounds good!

G. M. Genovese

11th January 2025 at 07:37

Wild Turkey 101 and Cocchi di Torino. To date, the best combo I've had. Excruciatingly difficult not to make another, pronto.

Peter McCarthy

15th November 2025 at 04:32

Wild Turkey 101 was pretty good with Dolin Rouge too, imho.

Andre Derailleur

18th October 2024 at 07:00

I drink this as a Manhattan variation and use Campari or Select to replace the bitters in the traditional drink. My favourite.

Margaret Sledge

22nd August 2024 at 23:31

A lovely drink that highlights some of my favorite ingredients. The first time I made it I used a cherry as a garnish. Second time I used an orange rind. I prefer the orange rind. And I will even add a couple of ice cubes to the glass when I’m not in the mood for an overly boozy cocktail.

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