How to Make the Brooklyn Cocktail

The Manhattan may get all the attention, but cross the East River and you’ll find one of its most interesting relatives. The Brooklyn cocktail is a wonderfully old-school combination of rye whiskey, vermouth, maraschino liqueur and a bitter aperitif, resulting in something drier and slightly more complex than its famous neighbor.

Named for the New York borough, the Brooklyn dates back to the early years of the 20th century, when bartenders seemed determined to turn the map of New York City into a cocktail menu. It disappeared for decades, largely because one of its key ingredients became difficult to find, before being rediscovered by bartenders during the modern cocktail revival.

If you love a Manhattan but fancy something a little different, the Brooklyn should absolutely be on your list.

The History of the Brooklyn Cocktail

One of the earliest known Brooklyn Cocktail recipes appeared in Jacob A. Grohusko’s Jack’s Manual in 1908. That original recipe combined equal parts rye whiskey and Italian vermouth with a dash each of Amer Picon and maraschino liqueur.

The drink continued to evolve. Jacques Straub subsequently published a version made with French dry vermouth, which moved the Brooklyn closer to the cocktail we recognize today. Harry Craddock included it in The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, using Canadian Club whisky, French vermouth, Amer Picon and maraschino.

It was very much a cocktail of its time. New York already had the Manhattan, while the Bronx had also found its way onto cocktail menus. Eventually, cocktails would be associated with all five boroughs, although some fared considerably better than others.

The Brooklyn never achieved the fame of the Manhattan, and Amer Picon was partly responsible for its disappearance from American bars. The French bitter orange aperitif became increasingly difficult to find in the United States, which is problematic when your cocktail rather depends upon it.

As bartenders began digging through old cocktail books and reviving forgotten drinks, the Brooklyn came back with them. Today, you’ll find a number of versions of the drink, with different bartenders taking slightly different approaches to the elusive Amer Picon.

What Is in a Brooklyn Cocktail?

The modern Brooklyn is built around four ingredients: rye whiskey, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur and Amer Picon or a suitable bitter orange substitute.

Rye whiskey gives the Brooklyn its spicy backbone and keeps the other ingredients in check. It is one of the reasons the cocktail feels quite different from something made with a softer, sweeter bourbon. If you are looking for more ways to use that bottle, have a look through my whiskey cocktail recipes.

Dry vermouth is what separates the modern Brooklyn most noticeably from a classic Manhattan. The Manhattan traditionally calls for sweet vermouth, while the now-familiar Brooklyn uses dry vermouth, giving it a leaner character. You can see what happens when you use both sweet and dry vermouth in my Perfect Manhattan.

Maraschino liqueur is not the syrup from a jar of cocktail cherries. It is a clear cherry liqueur with a distinctive dry, slightly nutty flavor, and a little goes a long way. If you are beginning to explore the enormous world of liqueurs behind the bar, you can find more ideas among my liqueur cocktail recipes.

Amer Picon provides the bitter orange element. The French aperitif has been around since the 19th century, but it can be difficult to find in the United States. Bigallet China-China and Amaro CioCiaro are among the substitutes commonly suggested by bartenders, although each will give you a slightly different Brooklyn. Difford’s Guide has an interesting look at the Brooklyn and its various incarnations.

What Does the Brooklyn Cocktail Taste Like?

Think of the Brooklyn as the Manhattan’s drier, slightly more mysterious cousin. Rye provides spice and warmth, while the dry vermouth brings herbal notes without the richer sweetness you would get from sweet vermouth.

Maraschino adds cherry, almond and a subtle sweetness, while the bitter orange element gives the cocktail another layer altogether. None of these ingredients should dominate. When the balance is right, you get a beautifully complex, spirit-forward cocktail with sweetness, bitterness, spice and citrus all working together.

If this is the sort of drink you love, it is worth exploring some of the other classic cocktails as well. There is a reason bartenders keep returning to these recipes more than a century after they were created.

What You Need to Make a Brooklyn Cocktail

One of the pleasures of making the Brooklyn is that you don’t need much equipment. You will need a mixing glass, bar spoon, jigger and cocktail strainer, plus a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass for serving.

Since this is a spirit-forward cocktail made entirely with alcoholic ingredients, it should be stirred rather than shaken. Stirring with plenty of ice chills and dilutes the drink while retaining the silky texture you want from this style of cocktail.

The quality of your ice matters as well. You want enough of it to chill the drink properly without leaving it sitting in a small puddle of rapidly melting cubes.

Tips for Making the Best Brooklyn Cocktail

Use rye rather than bourbon. You can certainly experiment with bourbon, but rye’s peppery character works particularly well against the maraschino and bitter orange flavors. There are plenty of other occasions for bourbon, particularly if you are making an Old Fashioned.

Go easy on the maraschino. Maraschino is a fabulous ingredient, but it has a very distinctive flavor and can quickly take over. The Brooklyn needs enough for you to notice it without turning the whole thing into a cherry cocktail.

Keep your vermouth refrigerated. Vermouth is wine, not a spirit, so once you have opened the bottle it belongs in the refrigerator. If that bottle has been sitting open on your drinks trolley since Christmas, your Brooklyn deserves a new one.

Chill the glass first. There is no ice in the finished cocktail, which means starting with a properly chilled glass helps keep it at the right temperature.

Experiment with your Amer Picon substitute. This is one occasion when not being able to find the original ingredient can actually be quite fun. Try the Brooklyn with different bitter orange aperitifs or amari and see which version you prefer.

The Brooklyn Cocktail Family

The Brooklyn’s second life became almost as interesting as its first. When bartenders rediscovered the cocktail, it inspired a new generation of drinks named after Brooklyn neighborhoods.

Perhaps the best known is the Red Hook, created by Enzo Errico at the legendary Milk & Honey in New York. It combines rye whiskey, Punt e Mes and maraschino liqueur, taking the basic idea of the Brooklyn in a richer direction.

Then there is the Greenpoint, created by Michael McIlroy, also at Milk & Honey, which brings together rye, sweet vermouth, yellow Chartreuse and bitters.

There are more, including the Bensonhurst and Bushwick, turning the Brooklyn into the starting point for a miniature cocktail map of the borough. I love this sort of cocktail genealogy, where one drink created more than a century ago keeps inspiring bartenders to play with its basic structure.

Brooklyn Cocktail FAQs

What can I substitute for Amer Picon in a Brooklyn?

Amer Picon can be difficult to find, particularly in the United States. Bigallet China-China and Amaro CioCiaro are two commonly suggested alternatives, although they are not exact replicas of the original.

The important thing is to retain that bittersweet orange element, rather than simply leaving the ingredient out altogether.

Can I make a Brooklyn Cocktail with bourbon?

You can, although rye is the traditional choice and its spicy character is particularly good in this recipe. Bourbon tends to make the cocktail rounder and sweeter, so expect the finished drink to have a different personality.

Why A Lush Life Loves It

I love the fact that the Brooklyn makes you work just a tiny bit harder than the Manhattan. There is the Amer Picon question to solve, that wonderful touch of maraschino and more than a century of bartenders tinkering with the recipe behind it.

If the Brooklyn has put you in the mood for another, head over to my Cocktail Recipes and decide what you’re making next.

Here is the recipe