Monte Carlo
A Monte Carlo is 60ml of rye whiskey, 15ml of Bénédictine and two dashes of Angostura bitters, stirred over ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained over one large cube in a rocks glass, or up into a chilled coupe, under a lemon twist. About 3.1 UK units. Think of it as a Manhattan that swaps the vermouth for Bénédictine. The liqueur sweetens and brings honey, saffron and herbs at once, so a small measure does the work of the vermouth and the sugar together. It turns up in David Embury’s The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, 1948, as two parts rye for each part of Bénédictine, with a dash or two of Angostura, shaken. He found it a bit sweet and suggested lemon juice and more rye. Ours takes half of that advice: four parts rye to one, stirred, and no lemon.
Glassware: Rocks Glass
Garnish: Lemon twist
Ingredients
60ml
At 40% ABV or stronger. Rye’s pepper pushes back against the honey in the liqueur, where a bourbon’s sweetness adds to it. Bottled at 50%, it makes a firmer drink of about 3.7 units.
15ml
At 40% ABV, from Fécamp in Normandy: honey, saffron, angelica and warm spice over a sweet base. It replaces both the vermouth and the sugar of a Manhattan, which is why 15ml is enough.
2 dashes
Two dashes, at 44.7% ABV. Clove and cinnamon give the liqueur something to hold on to; without them the rye and the Bénédictine taste like two drinks in one glass. Embury used one or two.
Instructions
Add the rye, Bénédictine and Angostura to a mixing glass.
Fill with cubed ice and stir for 20 to 30 seconds.
Strain over one large cube in a rocks glass, or into a chilled coupe to serve it up.
Express a lemon twist over the surface and drop it in.
Our version
David Embury’s 1948 recipe is two parts rye to one of Bénédictine with one or two dashes of Angostura, shaken. Ours is four to one, 60ml to 15ml, with two dashes, stirred, which leans the drink towards the rye as Embury himself suggested.
Source: our own specification. Last checked 10 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Rye, not bourbon. Bénédictine is thick and honeyed, and a bourbon’s vanilla and corn sweetness piles on top of it until the drink turns syrupy. Rye’s pepper holds it up. If bourbon is what you have, cut the Bénédictine to 10ml. Measure the Bénédictine. At 20ml the herbs take over and the whiskey sinks into the background; at 10ml the glass is rye with a vague sweetness. The gap between the two is about a bar spoon. Choose the glass before you stir. Over a large cube the drink is slower and rounder, and the honey comes forward as the ice melts. Up in a chilled coupe it is colder and sharper, and the herbs arrive first.
Behind the Monte Carlo
Flavour Profile
Where It Comes From
The earliest printing usually cited is David Embury’s The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, published in 1948. Embury was a lawyer rather than a bartender, and his recipe is two parts rye to one of Bénédictine with one or two dashes of Angostura, shaken with cracked ice.
He added that the drink was a bit on the sweet side and could be improved with lemon juice and more rye. Where it came from before 1948 is not recorded. The name suggests the casino; nothing ties the drink to Monaco.
Bénédictine Instead of Vermouth
Our Manhattan takes 50ml of rye and 20ml of sweet vermouth, with a dash of Angostura. Replace the vermouth with Bénédictine and most of the drink changes.
Sweet vermouth is a wine at about 16% ABV, lightly bitter, and it sits behind the whiskey. Bénédictine is a liqueur at 40%, much sweeter, and its herbs sit in front. So the measure drops to 15ml and the rye rises to 60ml.
The wine note that dries the back of a Manhattan goes. Honey, saffron and warmth take its place.
Four to One, Not Two
Made with 60ml of rye, Embury’s ratio means 30ml of Bénédictine, and the drink tastes of the liqueur first and the whiskey second. That is the sweetness he complained about.
At four to one the rye leads, the Bénédictine seasons and the bitters tie them together. It is also a strong glass, at about 3.1 units, and it is meant to be taken slowly.
Its Relatives
The Monte Carlo beside other whiskey and Bénédictine drinks
Monte Carlo (ours)
- Whiskey
- 60ml rye
- Bénédictine
- 15ml
- Also in the glass
- Two dashes Angostura
- UK units
- About 3.1
Monte Carlo (Embury, 1948)
- Whiskey
- Two parts rye
- Bénédictine
- One part
- Also in the glass
- One or two dashes Angostura
- UK units
- Not stated
Manhattan
- Whiskey
- 50ml rye
- Bénédictine
- None
- Also in the glass
- 20ml sweet vermouth, a dash of Angostura
- UK units
- About 2.3
Bobby Burns
- Whiskey
- 45ml Scotch
- Bénédictine
- 7.5ml
- Also in the glass
- 45ml sweet vermouth
- UK units
- About 2.8
Vieux Carré
- Whiskey
- 30ml rye, 30ml cognac
- Bénédictine
- 5ml
- Also in the glass
- 30ml sweet vermouth, two dashes Peychaud’s
- UK units
- About 3.1
| Drink | Whiskey | Bénédictine | Also in the glass | UK units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monte Carlo (ours) | 60ml rye | 15ml | Two dashes Angostura | About 3.1 |
| Monte Carlo (Embury, 1948) | Two parts rye | One part | One or two dashes Angostura | Not stated |
| Manhattan | 50ml rye | None | 20ml sweet vermouth, a dash of Angostura | About 2.3 |
| Bobby Burns | 45ml Scotch | 7.5ml | 45ml sweet vermouth | About 2.8 |
| Vieux Carré | 30ml rye, 30ml cognac | 5ml | 30ml sweet vermouth, two dashes Peychaud’s | About 3.1 |
The Bobby Burns puts a little Bénédictine beside sweet vermouth, and the Vieux Carré uses even less, among rye, cognac and vermouth. The Monte Carlo is the plainest of them: whiskey, Bénédictine and bitters, with nothing else to hide behind.
How to Serve It
After dinner, over one large cube in a rocks glass, or up in a small chilled coupe. Twist the lemon over the top, then let it fall into the glass.
Lemon rather than orange. Orange adds sweetness to a drink that has enough already; lemon oil cuts across the honey.
For Scotch with sweet vermouth and a little Bénédictine, make a Bobby Burns; for the vermouth original, a Manhattan.
Make it at home
The Spirit
Whiskey (Rye)Rye whiskey, in American law, takes at least 51% of its grain from rye and its colour from new charred oak, and goes into bottle at a 40% ABV minimum; our recipes take 40% as the figure. Rye makes a drier, spicier, more peppery spirit than corn, which is why stirred classics such as the Manhattan, Vieux Carré and Brooklyn are written for it. It appears in 23 of our recipes.
Master the Techniques
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Monte Carlo cocktail?
Who created the Monte Carlo?
What does Bénédictine taste like?
Can I use bourbon instead of rye?
Should it be served up or over ice?
How is ours different from Embury’s?
How strong is a Monte Carlo?
You Might Also Like
Bobby Burns
A Bobby Burns is 45ml of Scotch, 45ml of sweet vermouth and 7.5ml of Bénédictine, stirred with ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained into a chilled coupe, with a lemon twist expressed and dropped in. About 2.8 UK units. It is a Rob Roy with Bénédictine in place of the bitters, which makes it rounder and more honeyed. The earliest printed recipe on record is in the National Police Gazette of September 1899. The Savoy Cocktail Book printed it in 1930 and called it one of the very best whisky cocktails. The name may honour the poet. Albert Stevens Crockett, writing about the old Waldorf-Astoria bar in 1931, thought a cigar salesman who drank there the likelier namesake. Either way, Burns Night on 25 January is when most people pour one.
Old Fashioned
An Old Fashioned is 45ml of bourbon, one sugar cube, two dashes of Angostura bitters and a few dashes of water. The sugar and bitters are muddled in a rocks glass until the cube dissolves, then ice goes in, the bourbon goes over it and the drink is stirred for 15 to 20 seconds. Orange peel is expressed over the top. About 1.9 UK units. Those are the IBA’s ingredients, which allow rye in place of bourbon. Only the sugar and bitters are muddled: no orange flesh, no cherry. The recipe predates the name. When a newspaper in Hudson, New York, defined the cocktail in 1806, it described spirits, sugar, water and bitters, a bittered sling. The name came later in the century, as bartenders added liqueurs to the format and drinkers who wanted it plain are said to have asked for one made the old-fashioned way.
Vieux Carré
A Vieux Carré is 30ml each of rye whiskey, cognac and sweet vermouth, with 5ml of Bénédictine and two dashes of Peychaud’s bitters, stirred over ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained over a large cube in a rocks glass, with lemon peel expressed over the top. About 3.1 UK units. Those are the IBA’s ingredients. The IBA serves it up, in a cocktail glass, finished with orange zest and a cherry; we keep the lemon peel of the recipe Stanley Clisby Arthur printed in 1937, in Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ’Em, and serve it over ice. Arthur credited the drink to Walter Bergeron, a bartender at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. The date usually given is 1938, a year after Arthur’s book, so the year cannot be pinned down. Vieux carré means old square: the French Quarter, where the hotel stands.
Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 12 October 2026