The Manhattan is one of the most elegant cocktails ever made — three ingredients, stirred cold, served up. Here's how to make a non-alcoholic version that earns the glass.
What You Need
- 2 oz No. 86 Non-Alcoholic Whiskey
- 1 oz non-alcoholic sweet vermouth (Lyre's or Proxies)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters (All the Bitter makes a great non-alcoholic version)
- Maraschino cherry or orange twist to garnish
- Mixing glass and bar spoon
- Coupe or Nick & Nora glass, chilled
How to Make It
- Chill your coupe in the freezer for 5 minutes, or fill it with ice water while you mix.
- Add No. 86, sweet vermouth, and bitters to a mixing glass filled with ice.
- Stir for 30 seconds — slow, steady rotations. You want dilution and chill without aeration.
- Discard the ice water from your coupe. Strain the cocktail into the chilled glass.
- Garnish with a maraschino cherry or a wide orange twist expressed over the glass.
Why Stirred, Not Shaken
Shaking a Manhattan is a common mistake. Shaking aerates the drink, giving it a cloudy, slightly frothy appearance and a different texture. The Manhattan is meant to be crystal clear, silky, and cold — which you only get by stirring.
Stir until the outside of your mixing glass is frosty. That's when you know you've hit the right temperature and dilution.
Choosing Your Vermouth
Sweet vermouth is doing a lot of work in this drink. Lyre's Aperitif Rosso is the most widely available non-alcoholic option and works well here. Proxies makes an excellent non-alcoholic red wine that can substitute if you can't find sweet vermouth.
The ratio matters. A 2:1 ratio (spirit to vermouth) makes a drier Manhattan. A 1:1 ratio makes it sweeter. Start at 2:1 and adjust from there.
The Garnish
Two classic options. A maraschino cherry dropped into the glass gives you something to eat at the end — sweet, slightly boozy (or not, if you use a non-alcohol cherry), a reward at the bottom of the glass. An orange twist expressed over the glass and then dropped in adds citrus oil to the nose, which lifts the whole drink.
Both are correct. Try both and pick the one you like better.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you make a Manhattan without alcohol?
Yes — No. 86 provides the whiskey base and No. 86's oak and vanilla notes carry the structure. Non-alcoholic sweet vermouth handles the sweetness and depth. The result is a proper Manhattan in every way except the alcohol content.
What's the difference between a Manhattan and an Old Fashioned?
An Old Fashioned is spirit-forward — whiskey, bitters, sugar, served on ice. A Manhattan adds sweet vermouth, which gives it more complexity and sweetness. It's also traditionally served up (no ice) in a stemmed glass. Both are classics. Here's the non-alcoholic Old Fashioned.
Do I need a mixing glass?
Technically no — any glass with enough room to stir works. But a proper mixing glass makes it easier to strain cleanly and gives you room to move the ice. If you're making Manhattans regularly, it's worth having one.
What bitters should I use?
Angostura is the standard. Two dashes is the classic ratio. If you want to experiment, a single dash of orange bitters alongside the Angostura adds a different dimension. Bitters are technically non-zero alcohol but used in such small amounts they don't register as alcohol.
Stir one tonight.
No. 86 makes a Manhattan worth making. Oak, vanilla, dry finish — everything you need for the base of a proper stirred cocktail.
→ Shop No. 86 — from $35.99
Make this recipe with No. 86 non-alcoholic whiskey — built for cocktails like this one.