The Brooklyn is one of five cocktails named for the boroughs of New York City, along with the Bronx, the Manhattan, the Queens and the Staten Island Ferry. It resembles a Manhattan, but with a specific type of bitters (several types of bitters can be used in a Manhattan) and the addition of Maraschino liqueur. It largely fell into obscurity after the end of Prohibition, but experienced a resurgence in the 1990s.
The Brooklyn was originally invented by actor and playwright Maurice Hegeman in 1910 at the Schmidt Cafe near the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge; although in a different version than what is now considered the standard version of a Brooklyn. Hegeman's Brooklyn included a mix of hard cider, absinthe, and ginger ale.