Manhattan--gin and vermouth? (1883)

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   From PaperofRecord.com.

   4 December 1883, pg. 7, col. 2:
      _LIFE IN CHICAGO._
_A Barkeepr Tells a Reporter Some of_
   _the Secrets of His Art._
>From the Chicago Tribune.
   "What'll it be, gents?"
   "Gimme a gin fizz, Tommy."
(...)
   The manager spun a half-dollar upon the bar, the two said, "Well, here's a
go," and the two beakers of "coffin-varnish" were quaffed with sundary smacks
and "ohs."
(...)
   "What us the popular drink nowadays?" he asked.
   "Gin fizz," said the artist, as he turned off part of the gas on his
glittering diamond stud.  "There's a great run on that now, and we sell hundreds of
them a day at twenty cents each.  You see every barkeeper has his own way of
making gin fizzes, and some of them have no egg and fill up the drink with
seltzer.  My style is sometimes called a silver fizz.  Where the yolk of an egg
is used instead of the white the drink is called a golden fizz.  The silver
fizz is what catches 'em, though."
   "Is the whisky sour a popular drink?"
   "Well, our sours are very popular now.  The claret 'snap' is what hits 'em
hard.  The claret makes the drink look well and it gives it a better taste.
Men who drink our sours expect a claret at every bar, and when it is not put
in they ask for it.  It's getting circulated now, and other places are adopting
our flourish."
   "Manhattan cocktails are in demand, too," said the artist.  "I introduced
them some time ago, and they have become quite popular.  They are made of
vermouth and gin.  I used to keep a bottle of it compounded and serve it out
regularly."
   "What is a 'blue-blazer?'"
   "Well, a 'blue-blazer' is a drink made of rum or Scotch whisky.  The
liquor is set on fire and poured from one glass to another.  A blue blaze follows
the stream, and there is where the name comes from.  But this drink is seldom
called for over a first-class bar.  It is a great country drink, as the 'jays'
think more of watching the blaze than they do of the drink."
   "What other drinks have you?"
   "The gin puff is a favorite drink.  It is composed of Old Tom gin, sugar,
cream and plain soda.  Then there is the pousse cafe, which is a micture of
brandy, bitters and several cordials, carefully poured in layers in a
'pony-brandy' glass."


(A MARTINI is gin and vermouth.  A MANHATTAN is whiskey and vermouth.  He
introduced them some time ago?  Hm--ed.)