With such a name, it's hard to hide where Manhattan came from! But, like many classics, this cocktail is no exception to the rule of great confusion that revolves around the circumstances of its creation. The most common story tells that it was created during a dinner at the Manhattan club of New York that Lady Randolf Churchill would have given in November 1874 in support of Samuel J. Tilden, then in campaign at the United States presidential election. The statements do not specify why such a mixture. But above all, the dates would not stick at all since the lady was then about to give birth to little Winston across the Atlantic.
A traveler cocktail
The Manhattan served at NoMad Bar in New York is called the West Branch: a complex blend of chocolate aromas and herbal notes. NoMad Bar / Photo press
We also find mentions of a Manhattan cocktail in several works published in the 1880s. Anyway, the recipe of the bartender's guide by OH Byron (1884) attests to the recipe still in force today: 2 measures of Rye Whiskey (typically American rye whiskey) for 1 measure of sweet (Italian) vermouth mixed with 1 drop of aromatic bitters then served in a cutter and garnished with a maraschino cherry and expressed orange zest. A bit like the meeting in New York of Italian migrants with local alcohol then the most fashionable is rye whiskey (Europe is then in full phylloxera crisis which ravaged the production of cognac).
From there, it is a real trip that can be organized: first across North America since some will prefer to use a Kentucky Bourbon when others will opt for a Canadian whiskey. After everyone is free, to use a Scottish, Irish, Japanese or why not French whiskey. In the same way that one can easily play with vermouths, between sweet and dry, but also by going looking for bitterness with very regional liquors… What some bartenders did not hesitate to do to imagine new cocktails since becoming in turn classics: Rob Roy with Scotch whiskey (1984), Brooklyn with Picon (1930), Bobby Burns with Benedictine (1937)…
Classic up to date
Ronin is served at the Sherry Butt in Paris. It is made with Japanese whiskey, Madeira brewed with pandan, oloroso, champagne syrup and smoked tea. Sherry Butt / Photo press
At the end of the 2000s, a young generation of New York barmen took up this principle of winning back a great classic, by creating a whole series of drinks now considered neoclassical: Little Italy by Audrey Saunders (2005), Green Point by Michael McIlroy (2005), Carole Gardens by Joaquin Simó (2008), or Bushwick by Phil Ward (2009). It's fun to note that these spoon shakers are an incredible New York tour - a Manhattan never gets ready for the shaker! - offer fans of the genre by choosing the name of a place according to the typicity that the mixture takes, like Little Italy made with Cynar, typically Italian liqueur. And the variations continue to see the light of day, everywhere as soon as the barman masters the ranges: like the Ronin served at the Sherry Butt in Paris with a Japanese whiskey, the Grands Boulevards at The Shell which opts for a combination of vermouths, the West Branch, a complex blend of chocolate aromas and herbal notes created at the NoMad Bar; or the Manhattan served at Pourring Ribbons, where new blends (mixes) of whiskeys and vermouth are used.
Six addresses to taste a Manhattan
Mixologist Joaquín Simó of Pouring Ribbons in New York. Pouring Ribbons / Photo press
IN FRANCE
Golden Promise - Whiskey bar, 11 rue Tiquetonne, 75002 Paris.
Sherry Butt, 20 rue Beautreillis, 75004 Paris. Phone. : 09 83 38 47 80
The Shell, 17 Boulevard Poissonnière, 75002 Paris. Phone. : 01 85 73 33 33.
IN NEW YORK
NoMad Bar, 10 W 28th St, New York. Phone. : +1 212 796 1500.
Pouring Ribbons, 225 Avenue B, New York. Phone. : +1 917 656 6788.
Employees Only, 510 Hudson St, New York. Phone: +1 212 242 3021.
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