Cocktail Queries is a Paste series that examines and answers basic, common questions that drinkers may have about mixed drinks, cocktails and spirits. Check out every entry in the series to date. Now ...

A Manhattan is made with three main ingredients, so a good whiskey is the real star of this drink. The Manhattan is one of several iconic cocktails from the late 19th century with a hazy origin story.

The cocktail’s first bit of bad luck hits it just after it’s invented. The Brooklyn pops into existence in 1908 but takes its near-current form in Jacques Straub’s 1913 book Manual of Mixed Drinks, ...