Content
Citation(s) & Footnote(s)
Book(s)What the edition says
The Manhattan discussion compares vermouth styles and advises matching the base to the modifier (printed p. 27 / PDF 41). Its displayed recipes use a 2:1 whiskey-to-vermouth ratio. The Black Manhattan uses 2¼ ounces bourbon and ¾ ounce Averna, a 3:1 base-to-modifier ratio (printed p. 115 / PDF 129). Thus comparing these printed versions changes modifier identity and relative proportion; it is not a one-variable modifier experiment.
Product identities requiring correction before teaching
The rendered Manhattan page labels Carpano Antica Formula as dry vermouth and Rittenhouse as bourbon. These are visibly printed labels, not errors introduced by the OCR. Current primary product descriptions identify Antica Formula as sweet vermouth and Rittenhouse as straight rye whisky:
Antica Formula — official product description, checked 21 September 2026
Heaven Hill — Rittenhouse Rye, checked 21 September 2026
These checks flag a conflict; they do not establish what substitute or wording the authors intended in 2017. A corrected teaching recipe would be labeled an Academy adaptation and specify actual products, rather than presented as an exact transcription. The flawed printed formulas are not supplied as learner preparation instructions.
Researcher synthesis
Source fidelity and practical reliability are separate checks. Faithfully capturing a page can reveal a mistake rather than verify its claim. Preserve the original locator and discrepancy, then state the basis of any adaptation.
A recipe collection is useful for comparing finished designs. It does not automatically supply controlled comparisons. State the question first: choosing between two complete cocktails, exploring a modifier replacement at fixed ratio, or finding an optimized recipe for each bourbon. Conclusions should match that question.
Connections to the current library
Recipe provenance needs an explicit distinction between source transcription, correction and adaptation.
Cocktail families help recognize continuity across variants without implying identical ratios or effects.
Tuning a formula is legitimate design work; the resulting changes must be recorded before making comparisons.
Course application and limits
The research companion receives an original paper exercise comparing the two printed ratios and asking which variables changed. Recipe-origin stories and priority attributions remain edition-specific leads, not independently verified history. Broad amaro-substitution claims are not treated as universal. This note closely reviews pp. 27 and 115, with visual checks; it is not a complete error audit of all 50 recipes.
