1870 Manhattan
The Manhattan has been around for nearly as long as cocktail culture itself—but the earliest versions weren’t quite the whiskey-heavy drink we know today.
Inspired by recipes from the cocktail’s formative years, our 1870 Manhattan leans into an older equal-parts style, pairing spicy Canadian rye with a generous pour of sweet vermouth. Copperpenny Just A Sec Triple Sec adds a subtle layer of aromatic citrus, while bitters pull everything together.
Rich, warming and beautifully spirit-forward, it’s a little taste of cocktail history—with a distinctly Canadian backbone.
| GLASS | Chilled Nick and Nora |
| GARNISH | Cocktail Cherry |
| PROCESS | Stirred |
Method
Chill a Nick & Nora glass while you prepare the cocktail.
Add the rye, sweet vermouth, Just A Sec and bitters to a mixing glass. Fill generously with ice and stir for approximately 20–25 seconds, until thoroughly chilled and properly diluted.
Strain into the chilled glass and garnish with a good-quality cocktail cherry.
Why “1870”?
The Manhattan’s exact origin is still debated, but the cocktail began appearing around the 1870s, before its first known printed recipes arrived in the 1880s.
Those early recipes could look quite different from the modern two-parts-whiskey-to-one-part-vermouth Manhattan. Some used whiskey and sweet vermouth in equal measure—and at least one early version added Curaçao alongside the bitters.
Our Just A Sec takes the place of that orange liqueur, bringing the idea forward with a distinctly Copperpenny twist.
Copperpenny Tip
Keep your vermouth in the fridge.
Vermouth is wine, not a shelf-stable spirit. Once opened, refrigerating it keeps its fresh herbal and fruit character intact much longer.
That matters particularly in this Manhattan: with sweet vermouth playing such a big role, a tired bottle will be immediately noticeable.
