Harvard
Cognac, sweet vermouth and Angostura, stirred, with a splash of soda. The 1890s brandy Manhattan named for the college — and the soda is the detail everyone forgets.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe.
Add the cognac, sweet vermouth and bitters to a mixing glass.
Fill with ice and stir for 25 seconds.
Strain into the chilled coupe, add the splash of soda, express a lemon twist over the top and drop it in.
A thoughtful finish
- The splash of soda is Kappeler's 1895 instruction and lightens a drink that is half vermouth; do not skip it.
- Equal parts is the original; two to one cognac makes a drier, modern Harvard.
- A VS cognac; the vermouth and bitters hide anything older.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the soda.
- Tired vermouth in a drink that is half vermouth.
- Shaking.
A few good questions.
What does a Harvard taste like?
A brandy Manhattan — cognac's fruit against sweet vermouth and bitters — with a splash of soda that keeps it light.
Why the soda?
It is in the 1895 recipe. A half-ounce lifts the vermouth and makes the drink drinkable rather than heavy.
How is it different from a Metropolitan?
The Metropolitan is the same base with a dash of sugar and no soda. They are siblings.
Can I use rye?
Then it is a Manhattan with soda, which is also fine.
Variations
- Manhattan — Rye and sweet vermouth.
- Metropolitan — Brandy, sweet vermouth and sugar.
- Corpse Reviver No. 1 — Cognac, calvados and sweet vermouth.
- Bombay Cocktail — Cognac, two vermouths, curaçao and absinthe.
Where it comes from
1895 · United States
The Harvard appears in George Kappeler’s Modern American Drinks of 1895 as brandy and Italian vermouth with Angostura, stirred and finished with a splash of seltzer — a brandy Manhattan from the decade when every college got a cocktail: the Yale, the Princeton, the Cornell. The soda is in the original and most later books dropped it, which made the drink heavier than Kappeler intended; a half-ounce lifts it. It is one of the better brandy-and-vermouth drinks of its era and it was revived with them.
Sources
- George J. Kappeler, Modern American Drinks, 1895 (book)
- David Wondrich, Imbibe!, 2015 (book)
- Ted Haigh, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, 2009 (book)
Strength. About 1.44 US standard drinks at an estimated 20.3% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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