Cocktails of the World
Most of the drinks America calls classics came from somewhere else first: Havana's daiquiri and mojito, Mexico's Paloma, Florence's Negroni. Then America put them in a blender, added fruit and made them by the pitcher. Here is every original and every American version, with honest stories about who really invented what. For adults 21 and over, with two mocktails for everyone.
Classic Margarita
Blanco tequila, orange liqueur and fresh lime, shaken hard and poured over fresh ice in a half salt-rimmed glass: the sour that Mexico, Texas and California all claim.
Frozen Margarita (Dallas, 1971)
The margarita as Texas made it famous: tequila, orange liqueur, lime and a little syrup blended with crushed ice into a smooth, spoonable slush, the drink a Dallas restaurateur put in a machine in 1971.
Cuban Daiquiri
The original daiquiri is not pink and not frozen: white rum, fresh lime and a little sugar, shaken ice cold and strained into a chilled coupe, the way it was made in Cuba before America put it in a blender.
Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri
How America remade the Cuban daiquiri: white rum, lime and sugar blended with frozen strawberries and crushed ice into a thick red slush, the version that came with the electric blender.
Cuban Mojito
Havana's highball: mint pressed gently with lime and sugar, white rum, a mound of crushed ice and a splash of soda, built and churned right in the glass.
Negroni (and the Americano)
Equal parts gin, red bitter aperitivo and sweet vermouth, stirred cold and served over one big cube with orange: Italy's bittersweet classic, plus the older "American-style" Americano it came from.
Old Fashioned (the Whiskey Cocktail)
The drink that defined the word cocktail: whiskey, a little sugar, bitters and water, stirred over one big cube with an orange peel, before fruit salad got muddled into it.
Manhattan
Rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters stirred ice cold and served up with a cherry: New York's whiskey classic, and a famous origin story that cannot be true.
Tom Collins
Gin, lemon and sugar shaken, poured over ice in a tall glass and lengthened with soda: a sparkling lemonade for grownups, named, maybe, after a newspaper hoax.
Moscow Mule
Vodka, fresh lime and spicy ginger beer over ice in a cold copper mug: the 1940s American drink that sold a nation on vodka, and its famous mug.
Piña Colada (Caribe Hilton style)
Puerto Rico's official drink: white rum, sweet cream of coconut, a splash of heavy cream and fresh pineapple juice blended with ice, the way the Caribe Hilton shares its 1954 recipe.
Mai Tai (Trader Vic, 1944)
The real mai tai is not pink and has no pineapple juice: aged rum, lime, orange curaçao, almond orgeat and a touch of syrup, shaken and poured over crushed ice with mint and a spent lime shell.
Paloma
Mexico's everyday highball: blanco tequila, a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt topped with cold grapefruit soda over ice, built in the glass in under two minutes.
Gin and Tonic
London dry gin and cold tonic water over plenty of ice with a squeeze of lime: the two-ingredient highball with a malaria-medicine backstory that is half history and half legend.
Virgin Mojito (Nojito)
All the mint, lime and fizz of a mojito with no alcohol at all: mint pressed with lime and syrup, crushed ice and plenty of club soda, built in the glass in four minutes.
Shirley Temple
The original American mocktail: cold ginger ale and a pour of grenadine over ice, with two maraschino cherries, the pink drink named for a child star who said she never liked it.