Manhattan Special

Manhattan Special is a beverage company based in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Established in 1895, it is associated primarily with Manhattan Special Espresso Coffee Soda, a distinctive carbonated coffee drink made with espresso beans, seltzer water, and sugar. The company’s name comes from the location of its plant on Manhattan Avenue, linking the brand directly to the industrial and neighborhood history of Brooklyn rather than to the borough of Manhattan itself. The brand occupies a distinctive position within the American soft-drink market. Its espresso soda combines the preparation and flavor associations of coffee with the refreshment and carbonation of a traditional soda. This combination differentiates Manhattan Special from mainstream cola and fruit-soda brands, while also giving it appeal as a regional specialty product. The coffee soda is the company’s best-known offering and the product most closely identified with the Manhattan Special name. Although coffee soda is its signature product, Manhattan Special also produces more conventional carbonated beverages. Its range includes vanilla cream soda, cherry soda, sarsaparilla, orange soda, and gassosa, a lemon-and-lime-style soda. The company is described as using all-natural flavors across this traditional soda line. These products broaden the brand beyond its coffee specialty while preserving an old-fashioned soda-shop and regional-bottler identity. Manhattan Special’s long operating history is an important part of its brand character. Founded in the late nineteenth century and remaining associated with a Brooklyn manufacturing location, the company represents a continuity-oriented beverage business rather than a modern mass-market soft-drink corporation. Public reference material identifies the Brooklyn location, the 1895 founding date, the Manhattan Avenue origin of the name, and the product range, but does not provide detailed information about ownership, executives, distribution scale, financial performance, or corporate structure. The brand also has a documented connection to popular culture. Manhattan Special is mentioned in the film Sing Sing as a beverage enjoyed by one of the prisoners with his wife before his incarceration. This reference contributes to the product’s image as a recognizable, everyday regional drink with cultural associations beyond its core beverage category. Available reference material does not establish a separate advertising campaign, major corporate transaction, public listing, or significant controversy involving the company.

Manhattan Special was founded in 1895 and developed as a beverage company in Brooklyn, New York. Its plant was located on Manhattan Avenue in the Williamsburg area, and the company’s name derives from that address. The naming history is significant because it identifies the brand with a specific Brooklyn production site and neighborhood context, rather than indicating that the company originated in Manhattan. Available reference material does not identify the founder or describe the company’s early ownership structure, but it places the business within the long tradition of local and regional American soda production. The company’s principal identity formed around Espresso Coffee Soda. The drink is made with espresso beans, seltzer water, and sugar, creating a product that combines coffee flavor and caffeine associations with the effervescence of carbonated soft drinks. This formulation distinguishes Manhattan Special from standard colas, flavored sodas, and bottled coffee beverages. The product became the company’s most famous offering and remains the central reference point for the brand. Manhattan Special’s portfolio is not limited to coffee soda. The company also makes traditional sodas, including vanilla cream, cherry, sarsaparilla, orange, and gassosa, a lemon-and-lime beverage. The available description characterizes these products as using all-natural flavors. This range gives the company a broader soft-drink presence while reinforcing its traditional, regional, and soda-shop-oriented character. The product mix combines an unusual specialty beverage with familiar classic soda categories. The brand’s documented public identity is closely tied to Brooklyn, its long history, and the unusual character of its coffee soda. There is no supplied evidence of a major rebrand, acquisition, expansion into a defined international market, public-company listing, or change in ownership. Likewise, the available material does not provide a detailed chronology of manufacturing changes, packaging developments, leadership appointments, or financial milestones. The company is nevertheless described as an established beverage business located in Williamsburg. Manhattan Special has also received a small but notable popular-culture reference. In the film Sing Sing, the beverage is mentioned as something one of the prisoners loved to drink with his wife before his incarceration. The reference places the brand within an everyday personal memory and reinforces its identity as a recognizable specialty drink. Beyond this film mention, the supplied sources do not document formal marketing campaigns, product controversies, lawsuits, recalls, or other major news events.

1. 1895Company founded

   Manhattan Special was established as a beverage company in Brooklyn, New York.

   Source
2. The Manhattan Avenue plant gives the brand its name

   The company name originated from the location of its plant on Manhattan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

   Source
3. Espresso Coffee Soda becomes the signature product

   The company became best known for a carbonated coffee drink made with espresso beans, seltzer water, and sugar.

   Source

Traditional Brooklyn specialty beverage brand centered on espresso-based coffee soda and naturally flavored carbonated soft drinks.

• Espresso Coffee SodaCoffee soda

  Manhattan Special’s signature beverage is a carbonated coffee drink made with espresso beans, seltzer water, and sugar. It combines the flavor profile of espresso with the texture and refreshment of a soda. The product is the company’s most famous offering and the principal basis for its distinct identity within the soft-drink category.

• Vanilla Cream SodaTraditional soda

  A classic vanilla-flavored carbonated soft drink in the company’s traditional soda range. It extends Manhattan Special’s offering beyond coffee soda while supporting the brand’s old-fashioned regional beverage positioning.

• Cherry SodaTraditional soda

  A cherry-flavored soda included in Manhattan Special’s broader line of traditional carbonated beverages. The product is described as using the company’s all-natural flavor approach.

• SarsaparillaTraditional soda

  A sarsaparilla soft drink that reflects the brand’s connection to classic American soda flavors. It is part of the company’s non-coffee carbonated beverage range.

• Orange SodaFruit soda

  A traditional orange-flavored carbonated beverage in the Manhattan Special portfolio. It provides a familiar fruit-soda option alongside the brand’s more unusual espresso coffee soda.

• GassosaLemon-lime soda

  A lemon-and-lime-style soda known as gassosa. It is one of Manhattan Special’s traditional soda flavors and broadens the portfolio with a light citrus profile.

• Manhattan Special is referenced in the film Sing Sing

  The brand is mentioned in Sing Sing as a beverage that one of the prisoners enjoyed drinking with his wife before his incarceration.

  Other
  Source

1. Manhattan Special