No celebration is perfect without a drink. Have you ever wondered who named the cocktails that we sip over the weekends and during celebratory moments? On World Cocktail Day, let’s find out how popular drinks such as Cosmopolitan and Mimosa got their name.
COSMOPOLITAN
Bartender Neal Murray says he created the infamous drink in 1975 in Minneapolis. According to Murray, he added a splash of cranberry juice to a Kamikaze and the first taster said, “How cosmopolitan.” This is how the drink got its name.
BELLINI
According to TOI, Giuseppe Cipriani who invented Saint Bellini thought that the pink drink looked like a saint’s toga in a painting by Giovanni Bellini, hence the name.
SEX ON THE BEACH
According to reports, a distributor for peach schnapps sponsored a contest offering prize money to the bar that sold most of their product. A Florida bartender named Ted Pizio used the schnapps to create this suggestively named cocktail, reported Vine Pair. Pizio named the cocktail Sex on the Beach because he figured “sex” and “the beach” were two main reasons why vacationers visited the Sunshine State each year.
MIMOSA
A must-have during brunches, Mimosa got its name from the plant itself. Acacia dealbata or mimosa trees grow bright orange-yellow flowers that happen to be the same colour as mixed champagne and orange juice.
MARGARITA
Bartender Carlos “Danny” Herrera thought up this drink around 1938 in Tijuana, Mexico. He created it for Marjorie King, an aspiring actress who he said was allergic to everything except tequila. Herrera reportedly dubbed the drink the margarita, which is a Spanish twist on Marjorie’s name, per the Los Angeles Times.
MARTINI
Usually made with gin or vodka and vermouth, the martini is believed to have gotten its name simply because Martini & Rossi’s vermouth was used in this cocktail’s development.
