Jacques Pépin's Fancy 2-Ingredient Cocktail Is Our Favorite Nightcap

Legendary chef, author, and TV personality Jacques Pépin may be a classically trained chef famous for complex dishes, but when it comes to cocktails, he knows that sometimes simplicity is the key to success. Unlike other celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay, whose favorite cocktail, Wake Up, You Donkey, includes honey and elderberry liqueur, Pépin prefers a simpler option. His go-to drink is a reverse Manhattan, a classic cocktail that uses vermouth, for a straightforward take that's lighter on the alcohol and ideal for a nightcap.

A traditional Manhattan is one of the oldest cocktails still enjoyed today, with roots dating back to the mid-to-late 1800s. Its recipe includes whiskey (bourbon or rye), sweet vermouth, and a few dashes of bitters. The traditional ratio of whiskey to vermouth is typically 2-to-1, but Pépin reverses the proportions and skips the bitters, making vermouth the main ingredient. His version, shared on his Instagram, also forgoes the maraschino cherry and traditional lemon or orange twist garnish in favor of a large slice of lime. The result is an easy-to-make cocktail with a bittersweet flavor and a citrusy zing. 

Julia Child's husband Paul introduced Pépin to this Manhattan variation at a dinner in 1970. Pépin and Julia Child had a long and abiding friendship and appeared together on various PBS shows in the 1990s. Pépin made the reverse Manhattan his own and continues to imbibe in this easy-drinking cocktail more than 50 years on.

Jacques Pépin likes his reverse Manhattan even lighter on whiskey than most versions, using a hefty pour of sweet vermouth and only about 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of whiskey (his preference is Woodford Reserve). But Pépin's version isn't the only reverse Manhattan recipe out there.

There are other cocktails that riff on this drink by using specific brands of vermouth or various kinds of bitters, or by adding a particular amaro into the recipe (taking it closer to a boulevardier). Other recipes bring in more ingredients while maintaining the 2-to-1 vermouth to whiskey ratio, like the Topsy Turvy, which adds coffee liqueur and chocolate bitters into the mix.

Still, Pépin's version is by far the simplest to make (that we've come across), and it goes down easy. Whether you enjoy vermouth or are simply looking for the perfect nightcap, try this reverse Manhattan, which was tested and approved by one of the greatest culinary duos in celebrity chef history.