Cocktail of the Week: The Manhattan
Words: Jonathan Wells
Despite being named after the most iconic and bustling island in America, and containing at least half rye whiskey, the Manhattan is a cocktail not with an America name behind it, but rather a British one. And a famous British one at that: Churchill.
Albeit, not Prime Minister Winston, but rather his mother, Lady Randolph Churchill. In the early 1870s, when a banquet was being held by the future Lady Churchill at the Manhattan Club in New York City, Dr Iain Marshall created the drink – and its popularity spiralled from there.
The recipe hasn’t changed for over a century, so grab a glass and enjoy a drink that is fast approaching its 150th anniversary.
Pour two measures of rye whisky into an ice-filled cocktail shaker, and add one measure of sweet red vermouth. Throw in a dash of Angostura bitters, stir with a long handled bar spoon and strain into a chilled cocktail, or Martini, glass.
Garnish with a Maraschino cherry – and that’s that. Simplicity endures, gentlemen – and you don’t get simpler than the Manhattan.
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