manhattan special

I seem to be on a NYC theme this week. I always renew my love affair with New York when the spring is finally in full swing, and summer just around the corner. It's finally warm, and the walk to the subway isn't nearly as brutal as it is in the dead of winter with snow and ice blowing in my face.

Manhattan Special is a beverage company that has been around since 1895. There's a bit of old New York in every bottle of their espresso coffee drinks and natural flavored sodas. In theory, the espresso coffee should be my favorite drink: espresso coffee and seltzer, finally together in a bottle, capped with a bottle cap. Sadly, it's kind of gross. After tasting Manhattan Special, I realized that I like my seltzer separate from my coffee. I like iced coffee, and I like fizzy drinks. Just not together. Maybe if there had been some vanilla ice cream to make it like a Manhattan Special Float. Now there's an idea.

Bringing old-time flavor to the present is something I try to do. I love old-fashioned/retro candy: Squirrel Nut Zippers? Mary Janes? Bit-o-Honey? I subject co-workers and friends to these candies on a regular basis. I will not subject them to a Manhattan Special. In the long run, they'll thank me.