Drink Recipes: How to Make a Manhattan Cocktail | Classic Cocktails

The Manhattan Cocktail has been around for over a 100 years and while usually categorized as a winter cocktail, the Manhattan can really be had any time.

HOW TO MAKE A MANHATTAN COCKTAIL

• 2 ounces Rye Whiskey
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth
• 2 dashes Angostura or Orange bitters
• Maraschino Cherry

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine rye Whiskey, vermouth, and bitters. Stir well, about 20 seconds, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry.

HISTORY OF THE MANHATTAN

The original recipe for the Manhattan Cocktail was a mix of American Whiskey, Italian Vermouth and Angostura bitters, but during Prohibition (1920–1933) Canadian whisky was primarily used because it was available.

There are a number of variations to the history of the Manhattan Cocktail, one of them is that it was invented in the 1860’s by a bartender named Black at a bar on Broadway near Houston Street.

Another popular story suggests that the drink originated at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the early 1870’s, where it was invented by Dr. Iain Marshall for a banquet that was hosted by Winston Churchill’s Grandmother in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. Allegedly the success of the banquet made the drink fashionable and people started ordering the drink referring to the name of the club where it originated at, “the Manhattan Cocktail.”

The original (Original does not mean a personally selected variation from over 30 years after it’s creaton*)”Manhattan cocktail” was a mix of “American Whiskey, Italian Vermouth and Angostura bitters.” During Prohibition (1920–1933) Canadian whisky was primarily used because it was what was available.