Manhattan (cocktail)

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This drink is designated as an IBA Official Cocktail
Manhattan
A classic 2:1 Manhattan, made with Canadian whiskey, sweet vermouth, bitters, and a cherry
Type:	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume:	Whiskey
Served:	"Straight up"; without ice
Standard garnish:	cherry
Standard drinkware:	Cocktail glass
IBA specified ingredients^†:	5cl Rye 2cl Sweet red vermouth Dash Angostura bitters Maraschino cherry (Garnish)
Preparation:	Stirred over ice, strained into a chilled glass, garnished, and served straight up.

A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, ice, and bitters. Commonly used whiskeys include rye (the traditional choice), Canadian, bourbon and Tennessee. Proportions of whiskey to vermouth vary, from a very sweet 1:1 ratio to a much less sweet 4:1 ratio. The cocktail is often stirred with ice and strained into a cocktail glass, where it is garnished with a Maraschino cherry with a stem.^[1] A Manhattan is also frequently served on the rocks in an old-fashioned glass (lowball glass).

The Manhattan is one of six basic drinks listed in David A. Embury's classic The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. It has been called a drinking man's cocktail — strong, urbane, and simple. It has also been called the "king of cocktails."^[2]

1 Origin and history
2 Variations
3 In pop culture
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Origin and history

A popular history suggests that the drink originated at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the early 1870s, where it was invented for a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill, Winston's mother) in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. The success of the banquet made the drink fashionable, later prompting several people to request the drink by referring the name of the club where it originated — "the Manhattan cocktail."^[3]^[4] The original "Manhattan cocktail" was a mix of "American Whiskey, Italian Vermouth and Angostura bitters".^[5]^[6]

However, there are prior references to various similar cocktail recipes called "Manhattan" and served in the Manhattan area.^[4] By one account it was invented in the 1860s by a bartender named Black at a bar on Broadway near Houston Street.^[2]

[edit] Variations

The Manhattan is subject to considerable variation and innovation, and is often a way for the best bartenders to show off their creativity.^[2] Some shake the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker instead of stirring it, creating a froth on the surface of the drink. Angustura are the classic bitters, but orange bitters, Peychaud's bitters, and others may be used. Some make their own bitters and syrups, substitute comparable digestifs in place of vermouth, specialize in local or rare whiskeys, or use other exotic ingredients.^[2] A lemon peel may be used as garnish. Some add juice from the cherry jar or Maraschino liqueur to the cocktail for additional sweetness and color.

Originally, bitters were considered an integral part of any cocktail, as the ingredient that differentiated a cocktail from a sling.^[7] Over time, those definitions of cocktail and sling have become archaic, as sling has fallen out of general use (other than in certain drink names), and cocktail can mean any drink that resembles a martini, or simply any mixed drink. Accordingly, bitters are frequently omitted from a Manhattan unless specifically requested; purists, however, maintain that bitters are required to offset the sweetness of the whiskey and vermouth.

Using more vermouth and less whiskey to create a milder Manhattan may actually make the drink taste stronger to some drinkers because of the intense flavor of sweet red vermouth.

The following are other variations on the classic Manhattan:

A Rob Roy is made with Scotch whisky.^[2]
A Dry Manhattan is made with dry vermouth instead of sweet vermouth and served with a twist.^[2]
A Perfect Manhattan is made with equal parts sweet and dry vermouth.^[2]
A Brandy Manhattan is made with brandy rather than rye.^[8]
A Metropolitan is similar to a brandy manhattan, but with a 3-to-1 ratio of cognac or brandy to vermouth.^[8]
A Cuban Manhattan is a Perfect Manhattan with dark rum as its principal ingredient.^[9]
A Latin Manhattan is made with equal parts of white rum, sweet and dry vermouth, and a splash of Maraschino cherry juice, served up with a twist.^[9]
A Womanhattan is 1 part grenadine with 2 parts rye whiskey, served with a twist.^{[citation needed]}
An Uptown Manhattan is a name typically given to an upscale version of the drink with an establishment's particular special touches, usually including a more expensive whiskey.

[edit] In pop culture

Manhattans, along with cosmopolitans, were frequently consumed on the HBO television series Sex and the City.^[10] The cocktail is featured most notably in the final scene of episode 90,^[11] where the main characters enjoy several rounds of the cocktail at a trendy bar.^[12] The narration by the protagonist explicitly uses the characters' affinity for the Manhattan cocktail as a symbol of their love of life in the Borough of Manhattan.

In the animated television series The Simpsons, in the episode "Bart the Murderer", Bart Simpson is spared by the Springfield mafia for making "supoib" Manhattans for them.^[13]

Fast Eddie Felson, the main character in Walter Tevis' novel The Color of Money, chooses a Manhattan as his drink of choice.

It's the favorite drink of the (otherwise very feminine and maternal) character Kitty Forman, from the sitcom That '70s Show.

On the small North Frisian island of Föhr, the Manhattan cocktail is a standard drink at almost every cafe restaurant, and 'get together' of locals.^[14] The story goes, that many of the people of Föhr emigrated to Manhattan during deep sea fishing trips, took a liking to the drink, and brought it back to Föhr with them. The drink is usually mixed 1 part (the 'perfect' is said to be half white/half red) Vermouth to 2 parts Whiskey, with a dash of bitters, served ice cold, in an ice cold glass, or with ice and a cherry garnish.

In the movie Some Like it Hot the girls throw an impromptu party on the train during which they pool their smuggled alcohol to make Manhattans. They mention using bourbon whiskey rather than Canadian, and mix the cocktail in a hot water bottle.

In the series ER, Dr. Doug Ross orders a "Manhattan straight up" while out to dinner with his mother in the 1995 episode, "Home."

The Manhattan is also a favorite drink of Emily Gilmore in the Gilmore Girls. She likes the drink with one cherry as a garnish.

Karen Walker, an alcoholic socialite from the TV show Will & Grace, often enjoys a Manhattan.

In Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Veronica Corningstone orders a Manhattan and asks the bartender to "kick the vermouth in the side with a pair of steel-toed boots."[1]