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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 cocktail

Old Fashioned

✦ Proven classicEasyRocks

Spirit, sugar, bitters — the original cocktail, distilled to its essentials.


Ingredients

  • 45 ml bourbon
  • 10 ml simple syrup
  • 2 dashes angostura bitters

Whiskey Sour cocktail

Whiskey Sour

✦ Proven classicMediumRocks

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 cocktail

Manhattan

✦ Proven classicEasyCoupe

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 cocktail

Boulevardier

✦ Proven classicEasyRocks

Bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth — the Negroni's richer, whiskey-drinking sibling.


Ingredients

  • 45 ml bourbon
  • 30 ml campari
  • 30 ml sweet vermouth

Sazerac cocktail

Sazerac

✦ Proven classicMediumRocks

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 cocktail

Mint Julep

✦ Proven classicMediumJulep cup

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 cocktail

Paper Plane

✦ Proven classicMediumCoupe

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 cocktail

Trinidad Sour

✦ Proven classicMediumCoupe

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 cocktail

New York Sour

✦ Proven classicMediumRocks

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 cocktail

Vieux Carré

✦ Proven classicChallengingRocks

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 cocktail

Remember the Maine

✦ Proven classicMediumCoupe

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 cocktail

Gold Rush

✦ Proven classicEasyRocks

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

Whiskey Smash cocktail

Whiskey Smash

✦ Proven classicMediumRocks

A bourbon sour smashed with mint and lemon — like a julep and a sour had a summer fling.


Ingredients

  • 6 leaves mint
  • 22 ml lemon juice
  • 15 ml simple syrup
  • 60 ml bourbon

You can also use

Common substitutions that interchange with rye whiskey in these drinks.

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