Popular history suggests that the drink originated at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the mid-1870s, where it was invented by Iain Marshall for a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill, mother of Winston) in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden.

[5] By one account it was invented in the 1860s by a bartender named Black at a bar on Broadway near Houston Street.

[10] Another early record of the cocktail can be found in William Schmidt's The Flowing Bowl, published in 1891.

[13] On the small North Frisian island of Föhr, the Manhattan cocktail is a standard drink at almost every cafe, restaurant, and "get together" of locals.

[7] Some shake the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker instead of stirring it, creating a froth on the surface of the drink.

Some make their own bitters and syrups, substitute comparable digestifs in place of vermouth, specialize in local or rare whiskeys, or use other exotic ingredients.

Some add juice from the cherry jar or Maraschino liqueur to the cocktail for additional sweetness and color.