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Sake Manhattan

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (61)
Measurements in:
Serves:
1
Ingredients
1 3/4 fl oz Akashi-Tai Daiginjo Genshu sake
3/4 fl oz Bourbon whiskey
3/4 fl oz Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
1/3 fl oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
2 dash Peychaud's or other Creole-style bitters
1 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters

How to make

Glassware

Serve in a Coupe glass

Prepare

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

Method

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

Garnish

  1. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Sake Manhattan contains 172 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.5 standard drinks
  • 19.05% alc./vol. (38.11° proof)
  • 20.7 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

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History

Created in October 2016 by yours truly at the Cabinet Room, London, England.
See: Manhattan cocktail history

Review

Lighter in style than your typical Manhattan cocktail, with all the familiar flavours enhanced by extra sake complexity.

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Comments & Discussion

Benjamin Kay
Chefs kiss on this one! I used a dry/mellow sake, You get a strong maraschino punch upfront, followed by the sweet floral notes from the sake cutting through with the bourbon to tie it off at the end of a sip. Loved how consistent it was even as it warmed.

11/10 going out of my way to get another bottle of good sake to try this one again.
score: 1
Steven
A nice drink. I managed to keep my shirt on so I cannot say for certain how that affected the experience, but one supposed it made it more enjoyable for others.

I’d normally never say this, but I think this benefits from erring on the side of extra maraschino.

As always, try the Dammit Jimmy!
score: 1
Simon Sedgley Premium Member
We had this as an aperitivo and it was wonderful. So bravo! While we love a Maraschino cherry as a garnish, we decided to try a Lychee berry instead. Worked a treat. They can be purchased pitted in syrup. Delicious.
score: 2
Wolfgang Puck
Great drink. I didn’t have the fancy boy brandy, so I doubled up the lucardo as others have recommended. I tried it twice: once while wearing a shirt and once without. This is for sure a shirtless drink.
score: 5
Toby James Premium Member
Holy shit I thought I was the only one!
score: 1
Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member
Agreed, this is a better cocktail with all maraschino. I've amended accordingly.
score: 0
G. M. Genovese Premium Member
This is unexpectedly fantastic. I'm a little thrown off by the 'Manhattan' part of the name. Tried this twice. It's better with rye. This isn't fitting in a coupe. How big is yours?
score: 1
Simon Difford Verified User Premium Member
Should fit a standard 7oz / 200ml coupe. Please click "Coupe glass" above to see our page on glassware and sizes.
score: 1
Avery Garnett
Tried sake. It had a nice wine-ish note but wasn't grabbing my attention. This was absolutely divine, however - the perfect mix of red fruit from the vermouth and cherry liqueurs, the backbone of the bourbon, and the freshness of the sake.
score: 3
Katie Winder
I did the same as Craig described, not having the cherry brandy. His description is very accurate -- I really enjoyed this drink!
score: 1
Craig Fernholz
At a recently held cocktail party, a guest brought sake and asked for something. I found this recipe and it ended up becoming the most talked about and requested cocktail of the evening. After being greeted by an initial hit of sake, the transition to the bourbon and vermouth was perfect. I didn't have any cherry brandy on hand, so I doubled the Luxardo which made the cherry garnish a bit more of an exclamation. Excellent creation.
score: 5