Love Manhattans? Try Their Bolder, Mintier Cousin, the Toronto

Though it’s unclear whether or not this drink originated in Canada, The Toronto, a potent, spirit-forward mixture of Canadian rye whisky, fernet, simple syrup, and aromatic bitters is the Canadian answer to a uniquely American phenomenon. It seems like every neighborhood in New York City has a different cocktail named after it. Besides the obvious Manhattan, there’s the Red Hook, the Brooklyn, the Bushwick, and more. Though the Toronto cocktail may feel like a simple variation on the Manhattan, its history and place in Canadian bars are uniquely its own.

Like most classic cocktails, the backstory of the Toronto is complicated. In Meehan’s Bartender Manual, bartender and author Jim Meehan traces the history of the Toronto cocktail. Meehan notes that a cocktail called the King Cole with a similar build to the Toronto appears as early as 1916 in Hugo Ensslin’s Recipes for Mixed Drinks. 

The King Cole was adapted by Harry Craddock in The Savoy Cocktail Book, where he introduced rye whiskey to the recipe. Both of these drinks were similar in structure to an Old Fashioned, with Fernet-Branca used in place of Angostura bitters, and garnished with slices of orange and pineapple. The Fernet Cocktail, a mixture of equal parts Cognac or rye and fernet, was also being mixed up at the same time.

The Toronto cocktail received its first mention in print in David Embury’s 1948 edition of The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. In this version, Embury tweaks more than just the name; he swaps out the fruit slices for a more elegant twist of orange peel, and increases the amount of Canadian whisky in the drink. While Embury’s recipe lacks the addition of Angostura bitters, it is extremely close to the Toronto as it’s known today.

Why the Toronto cocktail works

It might seem like the Toronto is a direct variation of the Manhattan or the Old Fashioned, but it’s a bit more nuanced. All three classic drinks share a common ancestor: the Whiskey Cocktail. In the early days of mixology, the cocktail was just one style of drink among many, defined by a recipe of spirit, sweetener, and bitters. 

Invented slightly later, the Improved Whiskey Cocktail introduced absinthe and maraschino liqueur to the classic equation, giving the drink a bit more complexity with anise-forward notes and cherry sweetness.

The Toronto works because it’s based directly on the foundational recipe of all cocktails. It takes bold, spicy rye whiskey and sweetens it with simple syrup. Instead of absinthe, it gets its herbal and bitter complexity with the addition of fernet, and ties it all together with a few dashes of aromatic bitters. The resulting cocktail, stirred and served up, is a warming, herbal concoction that may look like a Manhattan, but has a profile and history that stands on its own.