Uptown Manhattan – Recipe from David Embury’s ‘The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks’

Sweet Manhattan with the addition of about half as much lemon juice as Italian vermouth. One dash Angostura to each drink. Shake of stir.

Apparently the only thing you need to convert something to ‘Uptown’ is a dash of lemon juice. I also still find it a little strange that Embury’s classic Manhattan is without Angostura. I wonder if at some stage the price of lemons in the US was astronomical?

Looking through old grocery prices as a proportion of income in the US is not something I could refer to as fascinating, I do find it a little interesting how supply has changed over time, and thus prices, it really does hammer home how lucky we are that the ‘relative’ cost of everything has dropped substantially over time. The exciting bottom line about lemons is that they were about 4 times more expensive in the 50’s, hardly something that would break the bank. They were more seasonal though, and the bulk were shipped into the states from Europe, I’m not sure if that answers the question regarding why the addition of some juice makes something ‘Uptown’.

Those crazy uptown folk and their lemons.

The drink itself is surprisingly good, citrus isn’t an ingredient that immediately springs to mind when you think of manhattans, but it actually works pretty well. I suspect the trick is to make sure its not too much lemon so its sourness is offset by the vermouth. And freshly squeeze your lemons, none of that bottled rubbish please. This drink is a little different and well worth a try.