French Manhattan

    So simple to make; yet, the highest degree of elegance and sophistication. I would like to note that a REAL French Manhattan has cognac as the base liquor.

     “There is not yet an official French neighborhood in NYC and we feel it’s important for France to be represented in NYC’s urban landscape,” say Léa and Marianne Perret, founders of local French language school Coucou and originators of a new petition to Manhattan’s Community Board 2 to officially designate a nook of Nolita as Little Paris.

      Today, over 60,000 French citizens and over 81,000 French speakers live in New York but have no such hub. Still, a nook of Nolita full of French food, culture and Parisian charm is rife to become Little Paris. “Calling a piece of NYC Little Paris would mean recognizing the French culture that is already represented in our neighborhood.

     It would allow Francophiles to identify a place in the city where they can find authentic French goods and experience a sense of strong French culture,” they say. “The love between New Yorkers and Parisians is definitely mutual. New Yorkers are extreme francophiles: they love French culture, food, cinema; they associate it with a certain art de vivre, a quality of life that is reflected in art, fashion, and gastronomy.

FRENCH MANHATTAN

Ingredients:

2 oz. Woodford Reserve bourbon

1 oz. Chambord

1 dash of Angostura bitters

One Luxardo or Woodford Cherry

Directions:

  1. Add the bourbon and Chambord to a beaker half full of ice.
  2. Add a dash of bitters.
  3. Stir gently and strain into a coupe glass, or a martini glass will work as well.
  4. Garnish with a cherry.