How Jacques Pépin's 3-Ingredient Cocktail Puts A Twist On A Classic Manhattan

Working in the food industry for over seven decades, Jacques Pépin is one of the greats of the culinary world. But, while his repertoire has predominantly focused in bringing accessible French cuisine into American households – he can whip up a mouth-watering cocktail, too. In a video posted by the Jacques Pépin Foundation on Instagram, the chef showcases several of his favorite tipples, including an intriguing twist on a Manhattan cocktail recipe that he calls a "reverse Manhattan."

In its classic form, the Manhattan consists of two parts of rye or bourbon stirred over ice with one part vermouth. It's then finished with a maraschino cherry or lemon twist garnish and a couple dashes of Angostura bitters. But, Pépin savvily reverses the order — placing a lime wedge into an ice filled glass first, then adding a generous pour of red vermouth, which then serves as the bulk of the cocktail's composition. To finish, the chef incorporates just a tablespoon and half of whiskey — a bottle of Woodford Reserve bourbon is shown — all charismatically stirred together with a knife. 

In Pépin's iteration of the cocktail, there's no need for precise bartending measurements or even a shaker. Rather, high-quality ingredients matched with casual assembly are what define this Manhattan riff — a construction that's a perfect reflection of Pépin's style.

Jacques Pépin's reverse Manhattan formula comes with several advantages. With a less spirit-heavy composition, the Manhattan comes lower in ABV, making it a sweeter and sippable cocktail that serves perfectly as an aperitif. Furthermore, the less biting nature of the beverage makes bartending much more forgiving — guests can add whiskey or vermouth to their taste. Since it's all assembled in a glass, batching rounds of drinks also becomes substantially easier.

Plus, this cocktail build serves as a delicious opportunity to sample new vermouths and liqueurs. Bartender favorites like Cocchi Vermouth di Torino deliver a bold dose of citrus, spice, and sweetness, while the lightly bitter and herbal Punt e Mes lends to a much more robust palate. You can even use an amaro like Montenegro to invoke a sharper, botanical edge, or consider blending liqeurs together to form intricate flavor compositions.

Keep the inverted template in mind while crafting other classic cocktails, too. You could make a vermouth-heavy reverse martini – a riff beloved by Julia Child who was a dear friend of Pépin's – or employ the bartending technique with cocktails sans vermouth. For example, flip a sidecar on its head by using more triple sec or Grand Marnier than cognac. With such a twist on hand, all kinds of classic drinks take on a new, sip-friendly form.