Classic cocktail · Guided recipe
Emerald
Start makingAn Irish Manhattan: Irish whiskey with sweet vermouth and bitters, stirred down. Softer and greener than its rye cousin.
In the glassIrish whiskey · Sweet vermouth · Angostura bitters
See exact amounts
What goes in
Ingredients
Set up before you pour
Use a coupe glass.
The stem keeps your hand away from a cold drink, while the rounded bowl makes an up serve easy to sip.
- Standard size
- 200 ml6¾ oz
- Ice & serve
- Chill it first; serve without ice.
- If you don’t own one
- Use a small martini glass or stemmed dessert glass.
- cocktail shaker
- strainer (or a small sieve)
- jigger or measuring spoon
- Irish whiskey60 ml
- Sweet vermouth30 ml
- Angostura bitters2 dashes
From bottle to glass
Method
- 01
Measure into the shaker Pour 60 ml irish whiskey into your shaker
Irish whiskey
- 02
Measure into the shaker Add 30 ml sweet vermouth
Sweet vermouth
- 03
Measure into the shaker Add 2 dashes Angostura
Angostura bitters
- 04
Ice the shaker Fill the shaker with ice
- 05
Seal and shake Seal and shake hard
- 06
Strain cleanly Strain into a chilled glass — no ice
- 07
Finish the drink Finish it — add a cocktail cherry
Know your drink
About the Emerald
Choosing the Irish bottle
Most Irish whiskey on the shelf is blended and deliberately light, which is a virtue neat and a liability at 60 ml under sweet vermouth. Single pot still is the style to reach for. Unmalted barley in the mash gives it a green, peppery grip that holds its own against the wine and the bitters instead of dissolving into them.
Cask choice matters nearly as much as the mash bill. A whiskey with sherry maturation in it, Redbreast being the obvious one, meets the vermouth's raisin and vanilla halfway. A bourbon-cask bottling keeps things cleaner and drier. Neither is wrong. Decide which half of the drink you want doing the talking, then buy accordingly.
Common questions
Emerald FAQ
Which Irish whiskey won't get lost under the vermouth?
A single pot still: Redbreast 12, Powers John's Lane, Green Spot. They have the oily, peppery body to carry 30 ml of sweet vermouth. Light blended Irish is built for smoothness, and smoothness is precisely what vanishes in a 2:1 build like this.
Is this what people mean by an Irish Manhattan?
Sometimes, though the name is unreliable. Some bars mean exactly this, Irish whiskey standing in for the rye. Others mean whiskey with Irish cream floated on top, which shares nothing but a country. Ask before you order. At home, calling it an Emerald saves the argument entirely.
My bottle is a light blend, not pot still. Should the vermouth come down?
Yes, to about 20 ml against 60 of whiskey. Blended Irish is built to be gentle and 30 ml of sweet vermouth simply walks over it. Pulling the wine back leaves the grain audible, though the drink gets noticeably drier, and a dash of orange bitters helps fill the gap.
Is the Blackthorn this drink under another name?
No, and that name is a minefield. The Irish Blackthorn is whiskey with dry vermouth and absinthe, a far leaner proposition. There's also a sloe gin Blackthorn sharing nothing but the word. This one takes sweet vermouth and sits squarely in Manhattan territory.
What ingredients are in an Emerald?
A classic Emerald calls for 60 ml (2 oz) Irish whiskey, 30 ml (1 oz) Sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Angostura Angostura bitters. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.
How strong is an Emerald?
A standard Emerald is roughly 32% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.
Is an Emerald shaken or stirred?
An Emerald is shaken. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.
Sharpen the technique
Skills used in this recipe
Where to go next
If you like the Emerald, try these.
Tipperary
Green Chartreuse at 15 ml isn't a modifier, it's a co-star, and this is one of very few whiskey drinks that lets it be one. Irish whiskey and sweet vermouth underneath, a hundred and thirty-odd botanicals over the top, and no room for a careless pour.
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Blackthorn
Equal measures of Irish whiskey and dry vermouth put this much closer to a Martini than to anything in the Manhattan family. Angostura and a dash of absinthe do all the seasoning. Malt and dried herbs, dry the whole way through.
View recipe
Irish Old Fashioned
Softer than the bourbon version and much softer than the scotch one. Irish whiskey brings grain sweetness and orchard fruit rather than vanilla or smoke, so the sugar can stay minimal — a bar spoon is plenty before the whiskey starts tasting like dessert.
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