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The topic of today’s post is another classic cocktail with an interesting origin. Definitely, a screwdriver cocktail does not need to be deciphered, as, indeed, Mojito or, say, Long Island Ice Tea. You can also identify this cocktail with Bloody Mary – two of the most versatile cocktails for every day.
In the roaring 90s, the Screwdriver was the most popular cocktail, which was produced even in cans. Today, of course, the former glory has faded, and young bartenders will even be a little surprised that the Screwdriver is a classic that is on the list of the International Bartending Association, next to the Dry Martini and some Negroni. But we remember that
Cocktail History Screwdriver
Such a folk drink cannot have a specific author. As for the name, not everything is so simple here. In English, the cocktail is called Screwdriver and there is a little irony here. The fact is that in the context of the English language the word Screw has something to do with the word, which in many films is closed with the sound “pi” and has something to do with sex life (hint: this word sounds in the movie “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” Guy Ritchie over 100 times). However, the word Screw also has one more meaning, more censorship – “to screw in”, which is an analogy to the word “screwdriver”. But in history, this analogy can be traced more clearly.
Some sources say that the screwdriver cocktail appeared in the distant 40s, when Smirnoff vodka poured into America, together with Russian emigrants. Naturally, the main consumers were workers on oil rigs in California, Oklahoma and Texas. It was there that vodka was promoted as it should: it was twisted with whiskey corks, and the advertising slogan read: “Vodka is pure whiskey without color, taste or smell.” Taking into account the quality of American whiskey at that time, the oilmen liked the product, but they could not drink Smirnovka as it should be (their health is not Russian). In general, another novelty in the food market came in handy – packaged orange juice from Florida.
Actually, this is where the main feature of the Screwdriver appears – the workers stirred juice with ice and vodka in glasses with what they always had at hand – a screwdriver. So Screwdriver began to be called, as it is called to this day. Then, of course, the oilmen took the secret of making the drink to other oil fields – Turkey and Saudi Arabia. It is to these countries that the first printed mention of the name “Screwdriver” in one of the editions of Time magazine dated October 24, 1949 belongs. And the famous cocktail experts Jared Brown and Anastesha Miller cite a similar article in the Washington Post, dated 1959, as an example. But this is not important, since the cocktail has already gained worldwide fame.
Cocktail recipe Screwdriver (long drink, build)
Ingredients:
- 50 ml of vodka;
- 100 ml of orange juice.
Preparation:
- fill a glass with ice;
- pour all the ingredients into a glass and stir;
- can be garnished with an orange slice.
Simple and tasteful. Cheers!
Variations on the theme “Screwdriver”
In 1977, sexual minorities poured into the street, boycotiria against Florida they did not like, including against the large Florida Citrus Commission conglomerate. Orange juice in tetra packs lost respect in gay bars and was replaced by apple juice, thus creating a new cocktail – Anita Bryant, glorifying the famous singer of the 60s who spoke out for sexual minorities. There are also other variations of the Screwdriver cocktail:
- Brass Monkey – dark rum is poured instead of vodka, and with white the cocktail is called Cuban Screwdriver;
- Electric Screwdriver – vodka, orange juice, tequila and energy drink;
- Fuzzy Screw – peach liqueur screwdriver
- Hi-Fi – whiskey instead of vodka, and carbonated (Orangina Jackhammer) instead of regular orange juice.
- Screw-Up – instead of 7-UP juice;
- Samerreto – a screwdriver with the addition of Amaretto (almond liqueur);
- Black Screwdriver – Blavod Black Vodka with orange juice.
The list, in fact, is endless, but the former glory of the drink does not return from this. But we can change something, can’t we? See you at Romov!
