Cocktails

Robert "Rosebud" Butt claims to have invented the Long Island iced tea as an entry in a contest to create a new mixed drink with triple sec in 1972 while he worked at the Oak Beach Inn on Long Island, New York.

A moon shine rum-type alcohol was mixed with mint, lime, and sugar cane syrup to ward off illness. When pirates invaded Cuba the drink was introduced to Pirate Drake where he promptly used rum in place of the Cuban moonshine. The drink took on the name El Draque, until it became the Mojito.

The mojito has routinely been presented as a favorite drink of author Ernest Hemingway. It has also often been said that Hemingway made the bar called La Bodeguita del Medio famous when he became one of its regulars and wrote 'My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita' on a wall of the bar. This epigraph, handwritten and signed in his name, persists despite doubts expressed by Hemingway biographers about such patronage and the author's taste for mojitos. La Bodeguita del Medio is better known for its food than its drink.

The mule was born in Manhattan but 'stalled' on the West Coast for the duration. The birthplace of 'Little Moscow' was in New York's Chatham Hotel. That was back in 1941 when the first carload of Jack Morgan's Cock 'n' Bull ginger beer was railing over the plains to give New Yorkers a happy surprise… The Violette Family helped. Three friends were in the Chatham bar, one John A. Morgan, known as Jack, president of Cock 'n' Bull Products and owner of the Hollywood Cock 'n' Bull Restaurant; one was John G. Martin, president of G.F. Heublein Brothers Inc. of Hartford, Conn., and the third was Rudolph Kunett, president of the Pierre Smirnoff, Heublein's vodka division. As Jack Morgan tells it, 'We three were quaffing a slug, nibbling an hors d'oeuvre and shoving toward inventive genius'. Martin and Kunett had their minds on their vodka and wondered what would happen if a two-ounce shot joined with Morgan's ginger beer and the squeeze of a lemon. Ice was ordered, lemons procured, mugs ushered in and the concoction put together. Cups were raised, the men counted five and down went the first taste. It was good. It lifted the spirit to adventure. Four or five days later the mixture was christened the Moscow mule...

The earliest known story states that in the 19th century, Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofresí, to boost his crew's morale, gave them a beverage or cocktail that contained coconut, pineapple and white rum. This was what would be later known as the famous piña colada. With his death in 1825, the recipe for the piña colada was lost. Historian Haydée Reichard disputes this version of the story.

The Caribe Hilton Hotel claims Ramón 'Monchito' Marrero created the Piña Colada in 1954 while a bartender at the hotel. According to this account, Marrero finally settled upon the recipe for the Piña Colada, which he felt captured the true nature and essence of Puerto Rico. The hotel was presented with a proclamation in 2004 by Puerto Rico Governor Sila M. Calderón celebrating the drink's 50th anniversary.

Barrachina, a restaurant in Puerto Rico, says that 'a traditional Spanish bartender Don Ramon Portas Mingot in 1963 created what became the world's famous drink: the Piña Colada.'

In 1978 Puerto Rico proclaimed the cocktail its official drink.

According to bartender lore, and the website sexonthebeach.com, the cocktail was invented by a bartender named Ted who was working at Confetti’s Bar. Inspired by a promotion from a peach schnapps company to sell the most of this spirit, he invented a cocktail featuring it.

And he named it Sex on the Beach because he assumed “sex” and “the beach” were the two main reasons why spring breakers ― big bar clientele in Florida ― visited the state.

One of the earliest stories is of the margarita being invented in 1938 by Carlos "Danny" Herrera at his restaurant Rancho La Gloria, halfway between Tijuana and Rosarito, Baja California, created for customer and former Ziegfeld dancer Marjorie King, who was allergic to many spirits, but not to tequila.[3][4] This story was related by Herrera and also by bartender Albert Hernandez, acknowledged for popularizing a margarita in San Diego after 1947, at the La Plaza restaurant in La Jolla.[5]

The porn star martini was invented by Douglas Ankrah, owner of the LAB London bar in London, United Kingdom, in 1999.

Although the name has proved controversial, Ankrah has denied that he named it a 'porn star' martini to be deliberately provocative. In interviews, Ankrah claimed he used the 'porn star' name to evoke 'a stylish and confident drink...[that's]….pure indulgence, sexy, fun and evocative'. Ankrah has also denied being a fan of pornography, or idolising any porn stars in particular.

In 2019, British retailer Marks & Spencer renamed their tinned Porn Star Martini drinks to Passion Star Martini, following complaints that the name normalised pornography.

The White Russian is without a doubt a great drink; however, have you ever heard of the Colorado Bulldog? The Colorado Bulldog is like the White Russian, only better. It's got the vodka, the coffee liqueur, and the cream, but it also adds the effervescence and sweetness of Coke to create a completely new cocktail.

The history of the Hurricane cocktail is an interesting tale of supply and demand, inspiring what would become a legendary cocktail of the southern United States. The first version of the cocktail is believed to have been served at the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Queens, at the aptly named Hurricane Bar. Not much is known about that drink, other than speculation about it containing rum, and that it was served in a Hurricane glass.

Conversely, the most popular story of the cocktail’s creation can be traced directly to Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans. The facts surrounding the cocktail’s origin also mark the recipe as a time capsule that addressed the needs of the time. In the mid-1940s, shortly after World War II ended, bourbon and Scotch whisky were in short supply. Rum, however, was plentiful. It both floated on barges down the Mississippi River and arrived at the Port of New Orleans via ships from the Caribbean.

Given its name, you might think the Honolulu Cocktail hails from Hawaii. In fact, it originated during the 1930s as a house drink for the famed Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, California.

Baby Pina Colada is the alcoholfree version of the wellknown cocktail Pina Colada.

The earliest known story states that in the 19th century, Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofresí, to boost his crew's morale, gave them a beverage or cocktail that contained coconut, pineapple and white rum. This was what would be later known as the famous piña colada. With his death in 1825, the recipe for the piña colada was lost. Historian Haydée Reichard disputes this version of the story.

The Caribe Hilton Hotel claims Ramón 'Monchito' Marrero created the Piña Colada in 1954 while a bartender at the hotel. According to this account, Marrero finally settled upon the recipe for the Piña Colada, which he felt captured the true nature and essence of Puerto Rico. The hotel was presented with a proclamation in 2004 by Puerto Rico Governor Sila M. Calderón celebrating the drink's 50th anniversary.

Barrachina, a restaurant in Puerto Rico, says that 'a traditional Spanish bartender Don Ramon Portas Mingot in 1963 created what became the world's famous drink: the Piña Colada.

'

In 1978 Puerto Rico proclaimed the cocktail its official drink.

The Virgin on the Beach is the alcoholfree version of the Seks on the beach.

According to bartender lore, and the website sexonthebeach.com, the cocktail was invented by a bartender named Ted who was working at Confetti’s Bar. Inspired by a promotion from a peach schnapps company to sell the most of this spirit, he invented a cocktail featuring it.

And he named it Sex on the Beach because he assumed “sex” and “the beach” were the two main reasons why spring breakers ― big bar clientele in Florida ― visited the state.

A moon shine rum-type alcohol was mixed with mint, lime, and sugar cane syrup to ward off illness. When pirates invaded Cuba the drink was introduced to Pirate Drake where he promptly used rum in place of the Cuban moonshine. The drink took on the name El Draque, until it became the Mojito.

The mojito has routinely been presented as a favorite drink of author Ernest Hemingway. It has also often been said that Hemingway made the bar called La Bodeguita del Medio famous when he became one of its regulars and wrote 'My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita' on a wall of the bar. This epigraph, handwritten and signed in his name, persists despite doubts expressed by Hemingway biographers about such patronage and the author's taste for mojitos. La Bodeguita del Medio is better known for its food than its drink.