Keto Manhattan Cocktail

When I think sophistication, I think about a sleek uptown New York bar with a girl in an elegant dress sipping a Manhattan. And while I can’t recommend an elegant dress for you to wear, I can recommend a perfect Keto manhattan cocktail. Yes, that right, despite it being a drink with a decent amount of sweetness, this manhattan recipe is completely low-carb and keto friendly.

So, if you want to wow your friends for you next cocktail night, here is the best recipe for the keto manhattan cocktail.

Ingredients

• Rye whiskey
• Dry Vermouth
• Keto simple sugars
• Angostura Bitters
• 3-4 Ice cubes
• Orange peel to garnish

How to make a keto manhattan cocktail

Before we can get started making the manhattan, we first need to get the glass nice and chilled. You can keep your martini glass in the freezer but in all honesty, your best bet is to fill the glass with iced water. This helps you avoid potentially smashing your glass by trying to fit it into a full freezer.

In a separate mixing container we can now start making the cocktail.

Pour in 2 ounces of rye whiskey and one ounce of the dry vermouth. Now, add one ounce of the keto simple syrup and a few dashes of the angostura bitters.

Now it’s time to stir, so add in your ice and begin to stir. Stirring will take a while to properly incorporate the liquids together. 30 seconds is a good rule of thumb but honestly, you just want to stir long enough to see condensation begin to form on the outside of your mixing glass.

Once you’re done stirring, you can pour the cocktail into your thoroughly chilled martini glass, straining out all the ice.

And there you have it, a wonderfully delicious keto manhattan, low in carbs but full of sophisticated flavor!

Why not use sweet vermouth?

Now, traditionally, you would use a sweet vermouth for this recipe but because of the carbs, that’s a no-go. So, for this recipe, we go with a combination of keto simple syrup and dry vermouth. 

Alternatively, if you are happy to forgo any sweetness, you can avoid the syrup altogether for a dry manhattan cocktail.

Do you need to use rye whiskey?

The use of rye whiskey in a Manhattan cocktail is a matter of personal preference, but there are a few reasons why some bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts prefer it over other types of whiskey.

One reason is that rye whiskey has a spicier and bolder flavor profile compared to other types of whiskey, such as bourbon. This bold flavor can stand up well against the sweet vermouth used in a Manhattan and create a more complex and balanced drink.

Another reason is that rye whiskey is traditionally used in classic cocktails and is considered to be the original whiskey used in a Manhattan cocktail. This adherence to tradition has led many to believe that a Manhattan made with rye whiskey is the most authentic and true to its roots.