From David Lebovitz
Garnish: brandied cherry
Fill a cocktail shaker about half-full of ice and add the rye, vermouth and a few dashes of a favorite bitters.
Stir semi-leisurely for about a minute, to chill the mixture.
Drop a brandied cherry into a chilled cocktail glass and strain the Manhattan mixture into it.
Some folks use a twist of orange zest in their Manhattans, rather than a cherry. One variation is a Perfect Manhattan, which swaps out the sweet red vermouth for equal parts sweet and dry vermouth. Using bourbon in place of the rye whiskey will yield a slightly sweeter cocktail, with less-spice.