The History of the Manhattan Cocktail

The Manhattan is widely regarded as the first “modern cocktail.” It emerged sometime during the 1860s to 1870s and was first referenced in writing in the September 5, 1882 edition of The Olean Democrat. The first full recipe for the cocktail appeared in writing two years later in O.H. Byron’s The Modern Bartender’s Guide (1884). That same year, the Manhattan was also mentioned in George Winter’s How to Mix Drinks—Bar-Keeper’s Handbook, J.W. Gibson’s Scientific Bar-Keeping, and Charlie Paul’s American and Other-Drinks. Though the exact origins of the cocktail are debated, there is credible evidence that it was created by a man named Mr. George Black at his New York City bar, fittingly called the Manhattan Inn, in the 1860s or early 1870s. Today, the Manhattan remains an extremely popular cocktail.