A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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Entry from June 05, 2005
Perfect Manhattan (cocktail)
What's a "Perfect Manhattan"? That's whiskey with a splash of both dry and sweet vermouth. Of course.

http://www.cocktail.com/recipes/p/PerfectManhattan.htm
1 1/2 - 2 oz blended whiskey
1/4 - 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
dash Angostura bitters
dry vermouth
Stir whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters in a large glass with ice. Rinse chilled cocktail glass with dry vermouth (just pour a little in the glass, swirl it around and pour it out). Strain chilled ingredients into cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

(Google)
eye - Drinks - 03.12.98
... Dry white vermouth is used to make the Dry Manhattan, while a combination of dry white and sweet red is called the Perfect Manhattan. ...
www.eye.net/eye/issue/issue_03.12.98/plus/drinks.html - 20k - Cached - Similar pages

22 August 1946, New York Times, pg. 14 ad:
IMPORTED GAMBAROTTA
VERMOUTH FROM ITALY
This sweet vermouth makes the perfect Manhattan.
(This may not be a "Perfect Manhattan" - ed.)

13 August 1948, Washington Post, pg. 6 ad:
For That Perfect
Manhattan!

2/3 Old Mr. Boston Rocking Chair Straight Whiskey
1/3 Calissano Italian Sweet Vermouth
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Stir with cracked ice, strain and serve with cherry.

2 March 1949, New York Times, pg. 10 ad:
Martino Balbo is sweet vermouth that makes the perfect Manhattan or aperitif.

23 November 1967, Los Angeles Times, pg. I5:
One that is becoming popular, he said, is the perfect manhattan. "That does not mean it is better than other manhattans," he said. "It means you use equal part of dry and sweet vermouth."

18 August 1979, Globe and Mail (Toronto), "Would-be bartenders look for the Perfect Manhattan" by Caitlin Kelly, pg. F6:
Even if you never mop a marble bar-top you'll master the esoteric difference between a Manhattan and a Perfect Manhattan. It's in the vermouth. . .

17 October 1990, Restaurants & Institutions, pg. 127:
PERFECT MANHATTAN

1 1/2 oz. blended whiskey 1/4 oz. sweet vermouth 1/4 oz. dry vermouth Dash bitters Maraschino cherry Method: Pour all ingredients into mixing glass filled with ice; stir. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish.

7 April 1991, New York Times, "Bartending Class Mixes Knowledge and Practice" by James Barron, pg. 44:
A regular manhattan has sweet vermouth, she said. Not surprisingly, a dry manhattan has dry vermouth. A perfect manhattan has both.

8 May 1995, Forbes, Bon Vivant, pg. S125:
This time have a Perfect Manhattan, blended whiskey with one-half sweet vermouth and one-half dry vermouth.

8 August 1996, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "The Booze Biz Quiz" by Ellen Futterman, pg. 55:
3. What is the garnish for the perfect Manhattan?
Answers: 3. Lemon twist.

1 November 1998, Playboy, "The Manhattan Project":
Named after New York's Manhattan Club, the manhattan - full-bodied and flavorful - is the perfect fall quaff after a summer of gin and tonics. Make it with two ounces of bourbon, half an ounce of sweet vermouth and a dash or two of Angostura bitters, all stirred and strained into a chilled manhattan glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. (A quarter ounce each of sweet and dry vermouth makes a perfect manhattan.)

1 December 1998, Esquire, "Things a Man Should Know About Drinking":
The perfect manhattan: two parts bourbon, one part sweet vermouth, bitters, and a splash of cherry juice. Over rocks or not.

25 January 1999, New York Times, Metropolitan Diary by Enid Nemy, pg. B2:
The application for a bartender's job at the Savoy restaurant on Prince Street asks, "What's in a perfect Manhattan?"

One recent applicant wrote: "Low-rent apartments, quality public education, people-friendly police, no rats and Barneys back downtown."

The ingenuous answer didn't merit a job offer.

"I'll settle for bourbon with equal parts dry and sweet vermouth," said Peter Hoffman, the owner.

27 January 1999, Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger, "Cocktail comeback? I'll take Manhattan" by T. J. Foderaro, pg. 78:
Manhattans generally come in one of two forms - plain or perfect. A perfect Manhattan isn't necessarily better than any other Manhattan; "perfect" is barspeak for a cocktail that's made with both sweet and dry vermouth, rather than one or the other.

The standard recipe for a Manhattan is a couple ounces of whiskey, a splash of sweet vermouth and a dash of bitters. A perfect Manhattan is made the same way but with a splash of both sweet and dry vermouth.

5 February 2005, Kitchener-Waterloo Record, "Perfect Manhattan goes down smooth, and gives a zany buzz" by Colin Hunter, pg. C3:
It's a pretty simple recipe: pour a splash of sweet vermouth over two parts whiskey, and you've got yourself a tasty Manhattan.

The Perfect Manhattan, however, can be a trickier concoction, as demonstrated in the crazy cocktail currently being served up by the Galt Little Theatre.

Like a stiff drink, the absurd comedy -- with its imaginary characters, dark murder plots and implausible twists -- can be a little tough to swallow at first.

But like several stiff drinks, the surreal and dizzying lunacy of the play is a welcome payoff.
Posted by Barry Popik
Food/Drink • Sunday, June 05, 2005 • Permalink


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