Silent Joe on the Art of the Manhattan

In the comments section for the latest Trace adventure, reader Joe Romano asks if a Manhattan is served in a martini glass. I replied in the affirmative with the assurance that Joseph Mailander — or Silent Joe as we have taken to calling him here at Wonderland, given his absence from Martini Republic — would undoubtedly chime in with further clarification.

Silent Joe has not failed us. Here is his view on the burning subject:

“Yes, a manhattan is a cocktail, and is served in a cocktail glass, which is often called a martini glass.

“However…

“Grenadine in a manhattan? That is an iffy call. Manhattans often harbor bitters, which seem to suit Trace better than anything rosy,

“Yes, some octogenarian bartenders recalling days when manhattans were made by the vat made them with grenadine. In olden times, they were typically made with grenadine as a coloring agent rather than a flavoring agent, especially when they were made in bulk. The bitters in manhattans would darken the whiskey when stored for any period of time in bulk. But the rose of Rose’s Grenadine (which by the way is not true grenadine at all, as it has no pomegranate in it) kept the color rosier.

“Grenadine certainly adds sweetness to a manhattan, but so can the juice of a single maraschino cherry. And in combination with sweet vermouth—the definitive manhattan additive, which does a great job all by itself at sweetening—it adds not much at all.

“BTW, there’s no need to say “straight up” in conjunction with a manhattan. Bartenders only ask you if you want it that way when they don’t have cocktail glasses on hand. But a manhattan on the rocks is as artless as a martini on the rocks.

“Adding Grenadine to the manhattan, by the way, is attributed to a fabled and beloved barkeep in Louisville whose name escapes me. Some people do swear by it. Not me. And I’ve already had two today.”