Cocktails are an integral part of the modern day food & wine culture. While there’s an interesting way to prepare and present each cocktail, they have equally interesting history behind them. Let’s have a look at some of the famous cocktails and the stories behind their origin.
Note:The exact origin of many cocktails is a subject of debate, we’ve just shared a few of the more popular theories.
1. Sex on the Beach – Named after the two things people love to do in FloridaÂ
“Bartender, I would like to have sex on the beach please”
The name of this drink might have lead to some of the most awkward conversations you may have had with bartender, but the drink is totally worth it. The name is said to have originated as a joke. Legend has it that in 1987 in Florida during summer break, a young bartender mixed up a concoction of peach schnapps, vodka, lime juice and grenadine cocktail and began selling it to win a local bartending competition. On being asked as to what the drink was called, he immediately made up the name “Sex on the beach” since he thought that the two major reasons of people flocking to Florida during summer break were the beaches and sex, hence the name.
Fact Source : sexonthebeach
2. Screwdriver – Named as a ‘codeword’ to mislead federal agents during prohibition
One of the easiest cocktails to prepare, screwdriver needs no introduction. The story says that in 1950, workers on oil rigs in the Persian gulf used to relieve their stress by mixing orange juice with vodka, and the name of the drink originated from the tool that they used to mix their drinks with, you guessed it right, the screwdriver! How charmingly original.
Another theory suggests that during Prohibition, the unregulated production and distribution of alcohol resulted in huge supplies of poor quality booze.  To mask the taste of the poor quality alcohol, bartenders began mixing the alcohol with fruit juices and other flavors, giving birth to a wide range of mixed drinks. As alcohol was banned in the country the people used “screwdriver” as a code word to mislead federal agents whenever they wanted this drink, between the facial reaction and the desire to mislead federal agents, vodka and orange juice quickly picked up the moniker “screwdriver”.
Fact Source: Dan Holmes
3. Mojito – The ‘summer’ cocktail that originated as a necessity
One of Ernest Hemingway’s drinks of choice, Mojito was invented rather as a necessity. The story goes that Cuban farmers used to add lime, sugarcane juice and mint to cheap rum to mask the bitter taste. Well, they sure did one hell of a job!
Fact Source: liquor.com
4. Irish Coffee- Was served to stranded American passengers to warm them up. God, I love the Irish!
Story has it that long ago in Ireland, when a flight was delayed, a bartender mixed Irish whiskey in the coffee of stranded American passengers to warm them up. The passengers were so delighted with the concoction that they took the recipe back to the USA and rest you know, is history. May God bless that bartender!
Fact Source : cocktail origins
5. Zombie – Invented as a cure for hangover (Maybe the inventor was drunk himself)
The inventor of this recipe, Donn Beach, concocted a mixture of 3 kinds of rum, liqueurs and fruit juices to help a customer get over his hangover. The customer returned several days later complaining that the drink made him feel like a zombie all day, after hearing this Donn decided to put the drink on the menu as a cocktail. The inventor claims that the strong alcohol content of this cocktail makes you feel like a zombie! I guess we’ll have to try and find out.
Fact Source : Wikipedia
6. Long Island Iced Tea – Invented by housewives to avoid judgmental eyes
Like many cocktails, the origin of this delightful cocktail is disputed, but popular theories conclude that this cocktail was invented by a bartender named Robert “Rosebud” Butt who made this drink using 5 different kinds of alcohol and triple sec(an orange flavored liqueur made from dried peels of orange) to enter in a cocktail mixing competition. This concoction looked like an iced tea, hence the name. So next time you have a horrible hangover after sipping on this cocktail, you know who to blame.
Another less popular theory suggests that Long Island housewives created the drink in an attempt to sip on an innocent-looking drink in front of their family. And also to avoid the judgmental eyes (their friends, husband, kids) the amount they were drinking by just stealing an unnoticeable single shot from each liquor bottle.
Fact Source : liicetea
7. Pina Colada – Invented to provide respite from the tropical heat
This delicious tropical drink is the national drink of Puerto Rico. The word ‘Pina Colada’ literally means ‘strained pineapple’ in Spanish, which is probably a reference to the strained pineapple juice used in the drink. At least 3 different bartenders from the islands claim to have invented the drink, but according to popular legends, the practice of mixing white rum, pineapple juice and cream of coconut dates back even further. Legend has it that a Puerto Rico pirate used to serve the concoction of white rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice to his crew to provide relief from heat and boost their morale. Whatever the origin might have been, this delicious drink continues to provide a delightful respite from heat for the aficionados.
Did you know National Pina Colada day is celebrated in Puerto Rico on 10th of July every year.
Fact Source : thedrinknation
So which one’s your favorite?