Author: Joe Bruno

Have you ever wondered where do all those crazy alcoholic drink names come from? Every time go out to a restaurant, I  see a drink menu that has a long list of alcoholic drink names that have the word martini or the ending tini in the name. Their ingredients little to do with an actual martini recipe. How did this happen? Where do bartenders find these names like Appletine or Chocolatetine? Other examples are the class of cocktail drinks that have sexual connotations like Sex On The Beach, Leg Spreader, or Dirty Red Headed Slut.  We teach many of these drinks at American Bartenders School.

The origin of most cocktail drink names are unknown or based on vague legends and myths, but some follow patterns. These are some of the ways mixologist come up with interesting names.

Alcoholic drink names with Sexual Connotations

They are usually related to a class of alcoholic drink recipes called shots or shooters.  Most of these alcoholic drink recipes use multiple liquors and mixes.  They are drank in one swallow and are meant to create a quick alcoholic buzz. The largest group of new alcohol drink names have to do with sex or profanity.  While many of the alcohol drink names appear to be juvenile, they continue to be popular with young customers according to bartenders in New York City.  Bald Pussy, Blow Job, Absolut Sex, are only a few.

Alcohol Drink Recipe Ingredients

There’s the Sloe Comfortable Screw, that uses Southern Comfort, Sloe gin and orange juice (thus the “Sloe” and “Screw,” as in Screwdriver). Then there is the spin off the Sloe Comfortable Screw Up Against a Wall, which includes Galliano (the “Wall” is short for Harvey Wallbanger that uses Galliano).

Liquors’ Name

Sometimes the liquor determines the name. The Bacardi cocktail was invented by the Bacardi Rum Company. Another example is the shot Absolut Sex . It’s named after the one of the key ingredients Absolut Vodka.

News Events

In the past bartenders often used special events as an excuse to name new cocktails. A example is the Japanese Cocktail, named in the mid-19th century for the first Japanese delegation to arrive in the United States. The Obama Mama, a drink that was advertised in a few Washington D.C. bars after the 2008 victory or President Obama.

Interesting People

Alcoholic drink recipes are named after famous people. The Gin Rickey was named after Colonel Joe Rickey,the Negroni after Count Camillo Negroni and the Ramos Fizz named after a well know New Orleans bartender Carlos Ramos. The Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic drink that became popular in the 30’s and was drink parents ordered for their children.

Places

The Manhattan a famous classic cocktail was named after the Manhattan Club in New York in the late 1800’s where it was first served. Rumor has it that the Russians had a drink called the Chernobyl made from chilled vodka and shard of dry ice.

Another group of names are derived from sequenced numbers name or a variation of the original name. Snake Bite 1, 2 and 3 are good examples. Red Headed Slut and Dirty Red Headed Slut are another.

Now that you have some basic guidelines on naming drinks you need to put on your thinking cap and come up with the next great cocktail name.

Halloween is coming and we have some ghoulish recipes are for your sipping pleasure. These bone chilling cocktail drink recipes are guaranteed to make your Halloween a night to remember. Exercise your bartending and mixlogoy skills to create these scary and devilish drink recipes.

Garnish the drinks with fake spiders, bloody vampire teeth, plastic small skulls and plastic spider webs to terrorize your guest.

Vampire Kiss Martini Drink Recipe

1 ½ oz vodka
1 oz champagne
Float ½ oz Chambord

Rim glass with sugar with red sugar, use food coloring to color sugar. Shake with ice and strain into a stemmed cocktail glass.

Vampire Elixir

1 oz vodka
½ oz apricot brandy
2 oz sweet and sour

Shake with ice and strain into a stemmed cocktail glass.

Float ½ oz Grenadine on top

Cyptini

1 oz coffee liquor
1 oz vodka
1 oz freshly brewed espresso

Shake with ice and serve in a stemmed cocktail glass and garnish with two coffee beans

Red Death

Cooler, blend or shake
1 ½ oz Vodka
Southern Comfort
Amaretto
Sloe 1 ½ oz Gin
Fill with 1oz each of sweet/sour and orange juice
Dash of Grenadine Syrup

Grim Reaper

4 oz of Guinness Stout
¾ oz espresso flavored vodka
¾ oz white chocolate liquor

Mix vodka chocolate liquor in a shot glass and then pour into pint of Guinness and shoot the entire glass.

Frankentini

1 ½ oz vodka
½ oz green crème de mint
½ oz white crème de cacao

Shake with ice and serve in a stemmed cocktail glass garnish with mint leave

Ghostly Goblin

1 ½ oz vodka
¾ oz Chambord
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Orange Juice

Shake with ice and strain. This drink may be served in a stemmed cocktail glass or over ice.

Vampira

1 oz tequila
1 oz passion fruit nectar
1 oz sweet and sour
2 oz blood orange juice

Fill tall glass with ice and stir all the ingredients except the orange juice. Carefully pour the blood orange juice last, allowing it to filter down.

Devil’s Punch

½ oz tequilia
½ oz triple sec
½ oz lemoncello
1 oz sweet and sour
2 oz orange juice

Shake and strain into tall iced glass

Garnish with a cherry and skull’s head

Werewolf’s Delight (non-alcoholic cocktail drink recipe)

1 ½ oz sweet and sour
1 ½ oz orange juice
1 ½ oz pineapple juice
2 oz lemon lime soda

Fill tall glass with ice and float ½ oz grenadine syrup on top.

For more information about bartending in New York, New Jersey or Southern California, please visit or bartending school locations.

A hot new trend in bartending is “molecular mixology“. Molecular mixology is a new funky bartending term used to describe the use of creating drink recipes with non-traditional ingredients. Molecular mixology is the art of taking flavors we are used to ingesting in liquid form and turning them around so we get solid cocktails and alcoholic foams, sprays, and smoke—sensations we don’t typically associate with happy hour. It’s more like cocktail hour at a haunted house.

The name is taken from the cooking term molecular gastronomy. A term that was coined by Hervé This, a French scientist who wrote a book explaining the scientific interaction of food ingredients. He believes it’s important to understand the application of scientific principles to cooking and apparently drink recipes. Mr. This was the attraction at a symposium that Bols Liquors, held for bartenders from around the world on the subject in Paris.

Many of the new drink recipes, don’t make much sense. They may be fine for a bartender tasting competition but don’t ask your local bartender to make it for you. They’re kind of like concept cars, look good at the auto show but are impractical for everyday driving.

This example “molecular drink recipe,” was taken from the L.A. Times. Although this recipe may appear extreme – most molecular cocktail recipes are equally as difficult to make.

The Pickled Pig Molecular Cocktail Recipe

Cucumber simple syrup
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar

Place the chopped cucumber in a heat-resistant bowl and set aside. Place the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Pour the simple syrup into the bowl over the cucumbers. Cool the mixture, then strain. This makes about 1 cup syrup, which will keep for about 1 week, refrigerated.

5 strips slow-cooked bacon
1 teaspoon tri-color peppercorns
1 (750-ml.) bottle Hendrick’s gin

Place the bacon and peppercorns in an open-mouthed container with the gin and set aside for 6 hours to allow the gin to steep. Remove and discard the bacon and peppercorns, then freeze the gin overnight. The next day, remove and discard the frozen “fat cap.” Store the gin in the freezer until needed.

While this new trend in mixology is interesting, I doubt many bartenders will be mixing them.  The ingredients are difficult to find and the drink recipes are labor intensive.