The most common word used on a Friday evening is a name of a cocktail. Or at least we believe so. But have you ever wondered where your pet drink got its name from? Let’s take some pages out the history of parties and find out the origin of globally famous tipples.
Wait up, we’re nothing if not scrupulous with our tipples, so first let’s tell you about the term ‘cocktail’ itself. Peculiar word, ain’t it? Yet one that has a special place in our dictionaries! In ye olde times, horses with docked tails were said to have ‘cock tails’. At races, the thoroughbreds didn’t have docked tails, so when a regular or ‘adulterated’ horse entered a race, it’s cock tail stood out. According to one (and our favourite) theory, since horse racing and alcohol go together like Stevie and wit, ‘cock tail’ was also used to adulterated spirits- ta-da!
Tom Collins
PC: 1806.com
This refreshing summer drink got its name from a hoax our friends in PR would be quite impressed with. To find the origins, we’re going all the way back to America in 1874 where the rumour that a certain Tom Collins had been slandering the good name of the some town folk was started. This fictional character was a boisterous man who spoke ill of nearly everyone he ‘met’. When news of the slandering spread, as rumours do, the enraged and incited victims went from pub to pub looking for Tom Collins. Of course he was nowhere to be found, because he didn’t exist! Desperate in their search, when they would ask the bar for Tom Collins, the bartenders would hand out a long, citrus, thirst-quenching drink! The Great Tom Collins Hoax of 1874 found space in publications for months to come – we donned our Indiana Jones hats and dug one out for you!
“If you haven’t, perhaps you had better do so, and as quick as you can, for he is talking about you in a very rough manner–calling you hard names, and altogether saying things about you that are rather calculated to induce people to believe there is nothing you wouldn’t steal short of a red-hot stove. Other little things of that nature he is openly speaking in public places, and as a friend–although of course we don’t wish to make you feel uncomfortable – we think you ought to take some notice of them and of Mr. Tom Collins.”
“This is about the cheerful substance of a very successful practical joke which has been going the rounds of the city in the past week. It is not to this manor born, but belongs to New York, where it was played with immense success to crowded houses until it played out.”
-Gettysburg Compiler
Stevie’s Tip: Cocktails & Dreams Speakesy does a mean take on the Tom Collins with their vodka-based Foghorn
Mojito
PC: bbc.co.uk
Mojito has a very controversial history. While some insist it’s a concoction created by African slaves working in sugar cane fields and the name is derived from “mojo” which means spell in certain African languages. That would make sense, it does have a magical effect on us. Another version goes that the resto bar, La Bodeguita Del Medio, in Havana, Cuba is the birthplace of this mix-true or not, it does wear the crown of being Ernst Hemingway’s favourite Mojito place! On the other hand, Oxford English Dictionary suggests that mojito literally means “little mojo” where mojo is the Spanish name of a Cuban sauce made with a citrus fruit. Nothing little about this fab drink!
Stevie’s Tip: The perfect sweetener for a Mojito is sugarcane, try that instead of sugar next time.
Screwdriver
PC: rantchic.com
Here’s one explanation that’ll hit the clicker & open the gates to your wisdom. Let us be the ones to take you to the “Oh ya, that makes sense” moment. Way back in the 1950s, working on the oil rigs in the Persian Gulf proved to be dangerous and tiring. The engineers had but one choice, to relieve the weariness with alcohol. So when they poured some vodka into their OJ cans, what tool came to their rescue to blend the alcoholic elixir- (no drumroll required) the Screwdriver! And thus, one of the most popular drinks across the world was born.
Bloody Mary
PC: laconfidentialmagazine.com
Many a lovely ladies have been credited as the muse for the Bloody Mary we know so well. Some associate it with Queen Mary I of England; her attempts to re-establish the Catholic Church in the country by indiscriminately murdering Protestants, lent her the moniker of the bloodthirsty Queen, Bloody Mary. Other aficionados believe the inspiration comes from Mary Pickford, a Hollywood diva. Another theory supports the inability to pronounce the Slav syllables of a drink called Vladimir-one too many Bloody Marys down and there’s no arguing with this one! As zany as that may seem, this theory does find some credibility from the comment about Fernand Petiot at Harry’s Bar in 1920s Paris preparing this drink for a certain Valdimir Smirov aka the developer of Smiroff.
Stevie’s Tip: Bloody Mary’s are best served super chilled. Cool the glass in the freezer before making the cocktail and load up on ice.
Sex on the Beach
PC: beatone.co.uk
Are you ready for this? The first memory of Sex on the Beach, the cocktail is from 1987 Florida. Peach Schnapps was the new thing in town and the distributors needed a way to boost sales during spring holidays. They offered hard cold cash to the bar and bartender who sold the most Peach Schnapps. Good old Ted at Confetti’s Bar created the tropical potion with peach schnapps, vodka, orange juice and grenadine. Mr Quick Wit when asked by the customer what the cocktail was called, quipped back that it’s Sex on the Beach, because Florida’s key attractions during spring break was the beach & sex!
Old-Fashioned
PC: whiskeyandhoney.us
An oldy but a goody. Definitely on top of the list of DSSC Fave Cocktails, the Old-Fashioned, inspite of its age, is one of the most flexible cocktails around. It started off with simple syrup, bitter and whiskey- that’s how we like it, but replacing the whiskey with gin, rum or brandy is totally legit. The history of its name, that can be traced to 1700s, isn’t as easy to track though. It’s widely reckoned as the first ever mixed drink for which the term ‘cocktail’ was coined. Most believe that the only reason we call an Old-Fashioned an Old-Fashioned is that it’s one of the oldest cocktails known to us!
Stevie’s Tip: For the best results, head straight to PCO
So these were the believable & preposterous tales that led to those oh-so-lovely names!
