A Manhattan is a whiskey-based cocktail, stirred and strained into a cocktail glass and garnished with a maraschino cherry or orange twist.

A popular story of origin for the Manhattan suggests that the drink was invented by Dr. Iain Marshall in the early 1870s at the Manhattan Club in New York City. It is said he created it for a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill, Winston’s mother) to honor presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. The banquet’s success made the drink very fashionable, prompting many people to request “the Manhattan cocktail” – named after the club it originated. Unfortunately, Lady Randolph was in France at the time and pregnant, so the story is unlikely to be true.

There are references to a similar cocktail recipe called “Manhattan” served in the Manhattan area. One story says it was invented in the 1860s by a bartender named Black at a bar on Broadway near Houston Street. An early record of the cocktail can also be found in William Schmidt’s “The Flowing Bowl”, published in 1891. He writes about a drink containing gum (gomme syrup), bitters, absinthe, whiskey and vermouth.

Ingredients:
25ml Italian sweet vermouth
45ml bourbon
Dash Angostura bitters
Orange twist or maraschino cherry to garnish

Method:
1. Add vermouth and bourbon to a cocktail mixer and stir.

2. Pour the mix into a martini glass, add a dash of bitters and garnish with a maraschino cherry or a twist of orange peel.

Why not have a Mocktail?
For a non-alcoholic alternative, mix 60ml cranberry juice, 60ml orange juice, ½ tsp maraschino cherry juice, few drops lemon juice, 2 dashes orange bitters.

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY