Rye Whiskey cocktails
Rye whiskey brings a peppery, grain-forward backbone that holds its own against bold mixers and bitter liqueurs alike — the reason it anchors classics from the Manhattan to the Sazerac with such authority.
13 classic recipes from our canon that use rye whiskey — Rye Whiskey sits in our spirits shelf.

Old Fashioned
Spirit, sugar, bitters — the original cocktail, distilled to its essentials.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml bourbon
- ◆10 ml simple syrup
- ◆2 dashes angostura bitters

Whiskey Sour
Bourbon, lemon and a silky egg-white cap — tart, rounded and timeless.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml bourbon
- ◆25 ml lemon juice
- ◆20 ml simple syrup
- ◆1 egg white

Manhattan
Rye and sweet vermouth, stirred down cold — elegant, spirit-forward, classic.
Ingredients
- ◆50 ml rye whiskey
- ◆20 ml sweet vermouth
- ◆1 dash angostura bitters

Boulevardier
Bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth — the Negroni's richer, whiskey-drinking sibling.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml bourbon
- ◆30 ml campari
- ◆30 ml sweet vermouth

Sazerac
Rye stirred with Peychaud's in an absinthe-rinsed glass — New Orleans' spirit-forward classic.
Ingredients
- ◆rinse absinthe
- ◆50 ml rye whiskey
- ◆7 ml simple syrup
- ◆2 dashes peychaud's bitters

Mint Julep
Bourbon and mint over a mountain of crushed ice — the drink of the Kentucky Derby.
Ingredients
- ◆8 leaves mint
- ◆15 ml simple syrup
- ◆60 ml bourbon

Paper Plane
Equal parts bourbon, Aperol, amaro and lemon — a modern classic that's bitter, bright and balanced.
Ingredients
- ◆30 ml bourbon
- ◆30 ml aperol
- ◆30 ml amaro
- ◆30 ml lemon juice

Trinidad Sour
An upside-down sour built on a full pour of Angostura, softened by orgeat and rye.
Ingredients
- ◆45 ml angostura bitters
- ◆30 ml orgeat
- ◆22 ml lemon juice
- ◆15 ml rye whiskey

New York Sour
A whiskey sour crowned with a float of red wine — dramatic-looking and surprisingly harmonious.
Ingredients
- ◆60 ml rye whiskey
- ◆30 ml lemon juice
- ◆22 ml simple syrup
- ◆few drops egg white
- ◆15 ml red wine

Vieux Carré
Rye, cognac, vermouth and Bénédictine, double-bittered — a layered New Orleans sipper.
Ingredients
- ◆30 ml rye whiskey
- ◆30 ml cognac
- ◆30 ml sweet vermouth
- ◆1 bar spoon benedictine
- ◆2 dashes peychaud's bitters

Remember the Maine
A Manhattan laced with cherry and absinthe — dark, spiced and a little mysterious.
Ingredients
- ◆rinse absinthe
- ◆60 ml rye whiskey
- ◆22 ml sweet vermouth
- ◆15 ml cherry liqueur

Gold Rush
Bourbon, honey and lemon — a modern whiskey sour with the syrup swapped for honey.
Ingredients
- ◆60 ml bourbon
- ◆22 ml honey syrup
- ◆22 ml lemon juice
You can also use
Common substitutions that interchange with rye whiskey in these drinks.
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