Can آپ imagine Churchill without a مارٹینی, مارٹانا in hand یا a book سے طرف کی Hemmingway that didn’t describe copious کاک, کاکٹیل variations? But, have آپ ever wondered where and when your پسندیدہ 5 o’clock drink came from? Was a Manhattan truly invented in Manhattan? Where do Mojitos really come from? Who was Tom Collins anyway? Is a Mai Tai really Hawaiian? From the classic مارٹینی, مارٹانا to the lesser known Singapore Sling, here is a فہرست of 10 classic cocktails and the often-controversial stories behind them.
Read away and the اگلے time آپ are downing your drink at your پسندیدہ watering hole یا politely sipping your drink at a fancy کاک, کاکٹیل party, آپ can impress your دوستوں with your knowledge of where that delightful (or not so delightful) mixture of alcohols really originated.
1. The Mojito
The drink of sailors? Traditionally made using white rum, sugar یا sugar cane juice, lime, carbonated water and mint muddled together, many believe the Mojito is quite possibly world’s first cocktail. Although the image of hardened sailors drinking رم mixed with mint, لیموں, چونے and sugar may not match your vision of straight-from-the-bottle gulping pirates, the Mojito has been enjoyed as early as the 16th century.
One story traces the origins of the Mojito back to 16th century Cuba, where the drink was called the “El Draque” in honor of explorer and sailor Sir Francis Drake. Legend has it the drink was first created as a means of covering up the often harsh taste of tafia/aguardiente, a primitive form of rum. The drink improved greatly during the 19th century with the introduction of copper stills that led to the modern (and much better tasting) form of rum. The contemporary name for the drink probably comes from a Cuban sauce called mojo, which is made from garlic, زیتون oil and citrus juice. Perhaps in reference to لیموں, چونے as a main ingredient, the drink became known as a کاک, کاکٹیل with “a little mojo” or, in Spanish, a “Mojito.” While the Mojito may be one of the world’s first cocktails, it certainly has not waned in popularity over the years. In fact, the drink first invented to make bad رم tolerable is now a widely مقبول کاک, کاکٹیل around the world and is an especially مقبول and refreshing summer drink.
2. The Singapore Sling
A classic کاک, کاکٹیل often appearing in various forms on drink menus around the world, the Singapore گوفن, جھلانا was appropriately first concocted in Singapore. While the exact سال this کاک, کاکٹیل was created is open to some debate, most agree that the کاک, کاکٹیل was first created سے طرف کی a Hainanese-Chinese bartender named Mr. Ngiam Tong Boon at the Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar in Singapore. It is believed the bartender first mixed up the کاک, کاکٹیل sometime between 1910 and 1915.
The cocktail, which is made from a mixture of gin, چیری, آلو بالو برانڈی and Benedictine in equal parts with a dash of bitters میں, تلخاب and Cointreau and finished off with pineapple and لیموں, چونے رس, جوس and grenadine, was modified in the middle of the 20th century سے طرف کی the original creator’s nephew. The newer recipe has been used since and is the base for the modern Singapore Sling. In the Raffles Hotel Museum, visitors can view the محفوظ where Mr. Ngiam locked away all of his secret کاک, کاکٹیل recipe books.
Included is also a hastily written recipe for the Singapore Sling, which was jotted down in 1936 سے طرف کی a visitor who asked the bartender for the recipe. Today, the drink is served on all Singapore Airlines flights and is mentioned in many مقبول culture فلمیں and books, including Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, in which lead character Raoul Duke talks about drinking “Singapore Slings with mescal on the side.” آپ can also still order an original Singapore گوفن, جھلانا at the Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar, where شبیہیں like Rudyard Kipling and others would once sip this famous, fruity cocktail.
3. The Sidecar
A classic کاک, کاکٹیل dating back about 100 years, the sidecar, سادیکر mixes equal parts برانڈی یا Cognac, Cointreau and نیبو, لیموں juice. The origin of the sidecar, سادیکر is largely debated, but مقبول wisdom is that the drink was probably first created in Paris sometime during یا just following WWI. In the 1948 book سے طرف کی David A. Embury, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, the مصنف credits the invention of the drink to an American Army captain in Paris during WWI.
Supposedly the drink was named after the motorcycle sidecar, سادیکر “in which the good captain was driven to and from the little bistro کی, bistro where the drink was born and christened.” Harry’s Bar in Paris is the “little bistro” in which the مصنف is referring to and is often credited as the birthplace of this sweet yet tangy cocktail. Supposedly the mixture of ingredients was first blended when the American captain asked for pre-dinner کاک, کاکٹیل that would help ease the chill he had caught outside. The French bartender was faced with a dilemma. He knew برانڈی would be the best liqueur to take off the chill, but he also refused to serve the traditional after رات کے کھانے, شام کا کھانا drink alone as a pre-dinner cocktail. The result was the bartender mixing برانڈی with the مالٹا, نارنگی flavored Cointreau and adding fresh نیبو, لیموں رس, جوس to make an appropriate pre-dinner cocktail, and Voila – the sidecar, سادیکر was born.
This کاک, کاکٹیل was especially مقبول in England and France, where ex-pats like Hemmingway would sip Sidecars at the bar. Although آپ may have an eyebrow raised if آپ are under 70 and ordering this drink today, the sidecar, سادیکر is regaining popularity and making a resurgence on contemporary bar menus.
4. The Pisco Sour
Another کاک, کاکٹیل on the فہرست with a controversial history is the Pisco Sour. A drink made from Pisco (a regional برانڈی from South America), نیبو, لیموں juice, bitters میں, تلخاب and egg whites, many debate whether the national origin of this drink is Peruvian یا Chilean.
Pisco itself dates back to the 16th century. The liqueur distilled from grapes سے طرف کی Spanish colonialists in South America in an attempt to make an inexpensive version of Spanish brandy. In Peru, the creation of the Pisco ھٹی, ترش is attributed to American expatriate Victor “Gringo” Morris at the Morris Bar in Lima, who blended up the drink as a variation of a whiskey sour. The drink immediately became so مقبول that other major hotels began serving it in their bars also, quickly popularizing the کاک, کاکٹیل with a international crowd.
In Chile, it is believed the birth of the Pisco ھٹی, ترش can be attributed to the English steward of a sailing ship, which was stopped at the then Peruvian and now Chilean port city of Iquique in 1872. It was the steward, who سے طرف کی mixing the regional liqueur with limes grown in the area, created the first Pisco Sour. Whatever the origins of the famous drink, the Pisco ھٹی, ترش is the iconic کاک, کاکٹیل of both Peru and Chile. In fact, both countries celebrate the famous کاک, کاکٹیل with National Pisco ھٹی, ترش Days (Peru’s in the first Saturday of February and Chile’s is celebrated May 15th) and there are many variations of the original کاک, کاکٹیل found around the world today.
5. White Russian
Not named for the country of its origin, but rather for the ووڈکا, شراب used in the recipe, White Russians have recently made a booming resurgence in part due to the cult movie classic The Big Lebowiski. The movie’s main character, The Dude, drinks a steady stream of White Russians throughout the film. The use of the word Russian in the name of this drink was mostly due to the fact that when it was first invented sometime in the 1930s, prior to the huge ووڈکا, شراب marketing campaign of the 1950s, when ووڈکا, شراب was a little known liquor in the United States usually directly associated with its nation of origin, Russia.
The White Russian did not get its current recipe (the drink combines equal parts cream, ووڈکا, شراب and Kahula) یا moniker until the 1960s. In 1961, the Diner’s Club Drink Book, gave a recipe for a “Black Russian” without cream, implying that the same کاک, کاکٹیل with cream would therefore be named a White Russian. Today White Russians have inspired a drinking game among college students, who try to keep up with The Dude in their consumption of the کاک, کاکٹیل while watching The Big Lebowski.
The drink is also the پسندیدہ drink of lightweights and lushes, as White Russians effectively obfuscate the hefty dose of alcohol in them that they go down the hatch with ease. That’s great for those who rarely drink یا for those who drink a little too much (i.e. The Dude, who gets most of his daily nutrition from these creamy little cocktails).
5. The Manhattan
Often called the “King of Cocktails” یا the “Drinking Man’s Cocktail,” The Manhattan is a very potent drink and one of the legendary six classic cocktails included in David Embury’s famous book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. The Manhattan is a کاک, کاکٹیل made with a mixture of whiskey, sweet ورماؤتھ, ورمووت and bitters میں, تلخاب and garnished most often with a maraschino cherry.
Regularly regarded as one of the best cocktails ever created, the Manhattan has a long and debated history. The کاک, کاکٹیل was supposedly first invented at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the early 1870s. Legend has it that the drink was invented for a banquet hosted سے طرف کی Lady Randolph Churchill (Winston Churchill’s mother) in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. The success of the banquet quickly made the کاک, کاکٹیل fashionable in New York City’s powerful circles and prompted many people to request the drink سے طرف کی referring to the name of the club where it originated, calling it “the Manhattan cocktail.”
However, like with almost every کاک, کاکٹیل on this list, there is great debate as to the truth behind this account of the Manhattan. In fact, some claim that while the drink may have first been mixed at the Manhattan Club, Lady Churchill had nothing to do with the banquet honoring Samuel Tilden and, in fact, was in England at the time giving birth to her soon-to-be famous son. Another legend says that a bartender with the last name Black invented the Manhattan at a bar on Broadway in New York City sometime in the 1860s. Whatever the true story, this کاک, کاکٹیل does indeed برداشت, ریچھ the name of the island from which it came.
6. The Mai Tai
The fruity, tropical Mai Tai is another کاک, کاکٹیل with conflicting stories of origin. The drink, which is made of a mixture of white and سونا rum, pineapple juice, مالٹا, نارنگی and/or لیموں, چونے juice, is of American origin despite its Polynesian name. The favored history, however, is that the drink was first created سے طرف کی Victor Buergon, better known as “Trader Vic” who invented the کاک, کاکٹیل at the Polynesian-style restaurant in Oakland, California that bore his name.
Supposedly, Buergon created the first Mai Tai in honor of some دوستوں who were visiting from Tahiti in 1944. After mixing رم with just the right combination of fruit juices and مالٹا, نارنگی flavored liqueur, he served the new کاک, کاکٹیل to his دوستوں who cried out, “Maitai roa!” (which literally means “very good”), and the کاک, کاکٹیل was born. However, like most مقبول cocktails, the Mai Tai’s history is not without controversy.
Trader Vic’s amicable rival, founding father of tiki restaurants, bars and کلب Donn ساحل سمندر, بیچ (of Don the Beachcomber restaurants), also claims to have created in the first Mai Tai in 1933 at his newly opened restaurant in Hollywood. Donn ساحل سمندر, بیچ (the founder legally changed his name after the success of his tiki restaurant chain) is known as the originator of Polynesian style restaurants that became a مقبول culture craze following WWII. While both men claim to be the original creator of this drink, the Mai Tai’s huge popularity can be mostly owed to both men, who sold the drinks in their wildly مقبول restaurant chains and forever associated the fruity drink with Hawaii – despite its California origins.
7. Tom Collins
There are a few different legends surrounding the name of the famous and classic Tom Collins cocktail. While many assume the drink was named after a real person, there is much debate whether there ever really was a Tom Collins and whether he lent to his name to this کاک, کاکٹیل of gin, نیبو, لیموں and لیموں, چونے رس, جوس and soda water. One مقبول account says the کاک, کاکٹیل was named after not a Tom, but a John Collins who was a headwaiter at a London Hotel in the early 19th century. The cocktail’s name was changed to a Tom Collins when Old Tom brand شراب, ٹھیکی (a sweetened شراب, ٹھیکی rarely used today) was substituted for the drier شراب, ٹھیکی in the original recipe.
Another story, which is the most probable of the various legends, involves a hoax that took over New York City in 1874. The prank went something like this: A friend would run into آپ on the سٹریٹ, گلی and, with great concern, tell آپ he just overheard someone named Tom Collins at a bar down the سٹریٹ, گلی saying hateful and libelous things about you. آپ race to that bar to confront the bounder, where آپ would be told that Tom Collins had just left for a bar several blocks away. When آپ get there, Collins would already have decamped for another joint across town. As آپ chase all over the city, your دوستوں convulse with laughter. The prank gained such notoriety, that even local newspapers started reporting the hoax. In 1874, the Steubenville Daily Herald reported that the hoax caused “frantic young men to rush wildly through the streets of the city on Saturday hunting for the libelous Tom Collins.” These young men were often directed to find legendary Tom Collins at a local bar.
So how did the hoax turn into the name of a drink? According to دیوار سٹریٹ, گلی Journal columnist and کاک, کاکٹیل historian Eric Felten, “It doesn’t take much to imagine how Tom Collins came to be a drink. How many times does someone have to barge into a saloon demanding a Tom Collins before the bartender takes the opportunity to offer him a کاک, کاکٹیل so-named?” In any event, this مقبول کاک, کاکٹیل has become a fixture in کاک, کاکٹیل culture, inspiring the name of a glass (a Collins glass) as well as a pre-mixed and مقبول Collins Mix.
9. Bloody Mary
Like every other کاک, کاکٹیل on this list, the history behind the Bloody Mary is also a bit cloudy. One مقبول legend says that the original Bloody Mary, which was then made using equal parts ٹماٹر رس, جوس and ووڈکا, شراب and used as a hangover cure, was invented سے طرف کی comedian, songwriter and movie producer George Jessel (aka the “Toastmaster General of the United States”). Jessel claimed he created the drink one morning in Palm ساحل سمندر, بیچ during the 1950s, when he mixed ٹماٹر رس, جوس and ووڈکا, شراب as a way to recover from an entire night spent drinking. Jessel even appeared in Smirnoff ووڈکا, شراب ads in the 1950s declaring, “I, George Jessel invented the Bloody Mary.” However, as aptly put سے طرف کی دیوار سٹریٹ, گلی Journal columnist and کاک, کاکٹیل historian Eric Felten, “Given Jessel’s knack for self-promotion, many doubted his claim,” which made skeptics to تلاش for the true origin of the drink and opened the door for a legend involving the head bartender at the St. Regis Hotel in New York named Fernand “Peter” Petriot.
Starting in the 1940s, Petriot was supposedly serving up Blood Marys under the alias of “Red Snappers” at the hotel’s King Cole Bar. After the مقبول ٹماٹر رس, جوس based کاک, کاکٹیل became مقبول in the 1950s, Petriot would claim that he actually first invented the کاک, کاکٹیل while working at Harry’s Bar in Paris during the 1920s (also supposed birthplace of the Sidecar). However, in reality, the Bloody Mary مقبول today is in fact a combination of the two men’s creations. Petriot himself admitted that “George Jessel کہا he created it, but it was really nothing but ووڈکا, شراب and ٹماٹر رس, جوس when I took it over.” While Petriot did inadvertently give credit for the original drink to Jessel, he also specified that it was he who added salt, pepper, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce to the concoction, creating the modern Bloody Mary.
10. The Martini
And, last, but certainly not least, on this فہرست of cocktails is the Martini. The most well-known of cocktails, Western culture has created quite the lore and mythology surrounding the drink. The three-martini lunch became a مقبول phrase coined for expensive, long lunches taken سے طرف کی business executives. In fact, the مارٹینی, مارٹانا has become مزید of a class of drinks than one drink in particular – with variations like Appletinis, ووڈکا, شراب martinis and others becoming مقبول over the years.
The famous and powerful people who have favored the simple, yet potent, original – Winston Churchill, Truman Capote, Ernest Hemmingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald to name a few – have only added to the lore of this مقبول classic cocktail. The first مارٹینی, مارٹانا – یا Martini-like drink – was poured sometime between 1862 and 1871 and was called a Martinez, a name to honor the humble town of Martinez, California, where it was purportedly first dreamed up سے طرف کی bartender Julio Richelieu, proprietor of the eponymous Julio Richelieu Saloon. That similar (but sweeter) version of the کاک, کاکٹیل consisted of sweet vermouth, gin, bitters میں, تلخاب and was garnished with a maraschino cherry. This version (which was essentially a شراب, ٹھیکی Manhattan) eventually gave way to the مزید contemporary drier version that includes gin, ورماؤتھ, ورمووت and bitters میں, تلخاب and was supposedly first made مقبول when John D. Rockefeller started downing them at the turn of the 20th century.
Although the origins of the first Martinez تاریخ back to the 1860s, the modern مارٹینی, مارٹانا first rose in popularity starting in 1900s. During prohibition, the مارٹینی, مارٹانا became the drink of choice (or no choice in many cases) in speakeasies across the country due to the quick accessibility and production of gin. In fact, it was often a شراب, ٹھیکی مارٹینی, مارٹانا یا no drink at all for customers hiding out in their secret watering holes. The modern ووڈکا, شراب Martini, which James Bond stalwarts will surely order shaken not stirred, was not created until much later and many مارٹینی, مارٹانا purists still claim the idea of a مارٹینی, مارٹانا made with ووڈکا, شراب is preposterous. A steadfast and iconic cocktail, however, the classic مارٹینی, مارٹانا is here to stay, whether made with ووڈکا, شراب یا gin, dirty یا not, with varying amounts of vermouth, neat, یا over ice.
