Name: Whiskey Six
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 15 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 15 ml Cherry brandy; 15 ml Red bitter liqueur; 15 ml Red quinquina e.g. Dubonnet, Byrrh; 15 ml Dry vermouth; 15 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth

Whiskey Six
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Glass:

Photographed in an Urban Bar Plain Retro Coupette 15cl

Ingredients:
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Cherry (brandy) liqueur
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Italian red bitter liqueur
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Dubonnet, Byrrh etc. rouge light quinquina chilled
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Strucchi Dry Vermouth chilled
¹⁄₂ fl oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth chilled

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill a COUPE GLASS.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish:

EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Dry vermouth, 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:

A riff on the gin-based Six Cylinder by yours truly in April 2026. This equal-parts, straight six, combustion engine-inspired cocktail runs better on high-octane straight rye than on regular-strength whiskey.

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Variations/similar cocktails:

Boulevardier

History:

Powerful six-cylinder automobiles, such as the McLaughlin K-6-45 Extra Special Master Six, were popular with Prohibition-era rumrunners and became known as "Whiskey Sixes". Their lightweight design and speed made them ideally suited to smuggling alcohol from Canadian whisky distilleries across the frozen, barely half-mile-wide Detroit River and other borders.

More cocktails by Simon Difford

Nutrition:

One serving of Whiskey Six contains 174 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
19.41% alc./vol. (38.82° proof)
17.5 grams of pure alcohol

More After dinner/digestif cocktails
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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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