The Preakness Cocktail shows up in Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, which means it’s been around long enough that most people have forgotten it exists. That’s a shame, because it’s a quietly excellent stirred drink that deserves more attention than it gets.
It’s essentially a rye Manhattan variation — rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, Bénédictine, and orange bitters. The Bénédictine is the interesting piece. It’s a French herbal liqueur made from a recipe of 27 plants and spices that dates back to the 16th century Normandy monks who supposedly developed it. Whether the monks actually invented it or that’s a good marketing story is debatable, but what’s not debatable is that it adds a honeyed, herbal complexity to a stirred drink that sweet vermouth alone can’t replicate.
The result is a Manhattan that’s a little richer, a little more aromatic, and considerably more interesting at a dinner party than just saying you made a Manhattan.
Rye and Bénédictine — A Natural Pairing
Rye and Bénédictine have a long history together. The B&B — Bénédictine and brandy — is one of the more famous applications of the liqueur, but rye brings something different: the spice of the grain plays against the herbal sweetness of the Bénédictine in a way that creates genuine complexity without effort.
Generic rye is the call here because the Bénédictine and vermouth are doing significant flavor work alongside the whiskey. Rittenhouse 100 is the standard recommendation — high rye content, 100 proof, reliable and well-priced. A lower-proof rye risks getting lost against the Bénédictine. Michter’s US*1 is the premium step-up for a more refined, elegant version of the same drink.
Stir It Properly
The Preakness is a stirred drink — all spirits, no citrus — which means it gets stirred in a mixing glass with ice for a full thirty seconds, not shaken. Stirring chills and dilutes the drink without aerating it or introducing the cloudy appearance that shaking would. The result is a clear, silky drink with a specific weight and texture that shaking destroys.
Thirty seconds of stirring sounds like a long time until you do it and taste the difference between a properly stirred drink and one that got fifteen seconds. Do the full thirty.
