More than just a conversation starter, a well-mixed drink is equal parts myth, legend, and tradition. Whether it’s a whirl of ingredients served in a tall glass or a slow-sipping tipple imbued with history and decadent flavours, there’s a story behind every cocktail.
And what better way to enjoy your favourite cocktail than at the iconic bars that first concocted them? From glamorous and swanky hotel bars to historic neighbourhood watering holes, we compiled a list of some of the world’s most popular drinks and where to find their original recipes.
Sazerac, Roosevelt Hotel, New Orleans
Like the Crescent City it came to symbolize, Sazerac is a drink of sublime contrast, uncompromising smoothness, and packs plenty of bite. Not a drink for those preferring saccharine, neon-coloured martinis, Sazerac is a complex cocktail steeped in New Orleans’ history.
The most popular account of the drink’s invention traces back to the French Quarter in 1838, when a local Creole apothecary, Antoine Amedie Peychaud, started giving his customers a special blend of Sazerac French brandy toddy stirred with bitters. The concoction was later served at the nearby Merchant Exchange Coffee House and its popularity prompted the owners to change the establishment’s name to the Sazerac Bar.
Sazerac Bar
Today, you’ll find the reincarnated Sazerac Bar inside the historic Roosevelt Hotel near Canal Street. The bar serves the modern version of this cocktail, which swaps cognac for rye whiskey, and rinses the glass with a dash of absinthe before pouring the drink, giving this ‘Big Easy’ classic another layer of herbal complexity.
Singapore Sling, Raffles Hotel, Singapore
A favourite at tiki bars and poolside lounges everywhere, the radiantly pink Singapore Sling was invented by Hainanese bartender Ngiam Tong Boon at Raffles Hotel’s Long Bar in 1915. This fruity cocktail’s seductive rosy hue hides an aromatic infusion of gin and liqueur. Ngiam designed the drink specifically for women who weren’t allowed to consume alcohol publicly at the time, hence the somewhat effeminate and innocuous appearance of the cocktail.
Long Bar
The newly restored Long Bar bears a 1920s plantation-style décor similar to how it would’ve appeared when wealthy patrons flocked to it for a Singapore Sling. Long Bar’s version of this timeless cocktail is more citrus forward and contains less grenadine. Along with the drink’s signature pineapple wedge garnish, Long Bar adds a shot of Curaçao to round out the fruity flavour.
Pina Colada, Caribe Hilton, Puerto Rico
More than just a lighthearted beach drink, the Pina Colada was declared the national drink of Puerto Rico in 1978. According to legend, this sweet, creamy concoction was invented by the notorious Caribbean pirate, Roberto Cofresí, who tried to boost his crew’s morale by giving them a white rum punch mixed with pineapples and coconuts. Though the modern version of the drink was likely made by bartender Ramón “Monchito” Marrero at Caribe Hilton San Juan’s Caribar in 1954. Marrero felt the combination of tropical fruit juice and coconut cream aptly captures the essence of Puerto Rico.
The Caribar
If you visit the Caribar today, you’ll find a contemporary lounge surrounded by panoramic oceanview windows. Aside from serving the original Pina Colada, the Caribar also offers several variations of the drink including the “Clear Colada” that’s made with Malibu Rum and coconut water.
Mimosa, Hotel Ritz, Paris
Bright yellow and sunny like the flower it’s named after, the Mimosa delights every brunch and first-class flight. Perhaps one of the easiest cocktails in the world to make, it’s near impossible to mess up mixing an equal part of orange juice and Champagne in a tall flute. But this sparkling cocktail’s origin is much murkier than you’d expect. Frank Meier, a bartender at Hotel Ritz Paris is usually credited to be the inventor of this sweet and tingling companion to crepes. Still, other accounts claim Harry’s Bar just up the street came up with the recipe first.
Ritz Bar
If you are a fan of history, architecture, and world-class cocktails, the Ritz Bar is the place to enjoy all these things while surrounded by timeless Art Deco décor.
Monkey Gland, Harry’s New York Bar, Paris
It’s been a decades-old toss-up between Harry’s New York Bar and the Ritz Bar when it comes to which invented the Mimosa, the Bloody Mary, or the Sidecar. But when it comes to the grotesquely named Monkey Gland, Harry’s New York Bar owner Harry MacElhone snags the honour for concocting this tacky drink.
The name Monkey Gland was borrowed from the eponymous quack medical procedure from around the turn of the century. It’s one where rich old men can pay a hefty sum to transplant monkey organs into their bodies in the hopes of restoring lost virility. But while those who underwent the operation soon discovered it was all a sham, MacElhone seized the opportunity to capitalize on this fad. The result is a tart, orange juice and gin-based cocktail that took prohibition-era Paris by storm.
Harry’s New York Bar
Even now, you can still order the original Monkey Gland at Harry’s Bar. This Parisian institution was once the favourite haunt of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and even James Bond.
Bellini, Harry’s Bar, Venice
An elegant pink drink made with white peach purée and Prosecco, the Bellini titillates the taste buds with equal measures of fruit and fizz. This combination was first mixed by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Venice’s famed Harry’s Bar sometime between 1934 and 1948. He named the drink after the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Bellini since its playful colours reminded him of a saint’s toga in one of the artist’s paintings. Initially, the cocktail was only served as a seasonal item. But once fresh white peach purée became more available to the bar, it became a year-round favourite among its most recognizable patrons including Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart, Alfred Hitchcock, and Orson Welles.
Harry’s Bar
Harry’s Bar and restaurant is also reputed to be the birthplace of the dish Carpaccio, which coincidentally pairs well with a glass of Bellini.
Blood and Sand, Savoy Hotel, London
Brutal, bloody, and unforgiving, the bullfight is a violent dance between man and animal that fascinated artists for centuries. Life and death in the bullring are moments relived repeatedly on canvases, photographs, novels, and almost every art form imaginable. It’s not a surprise then that the Savoy Hotel of London created a drink named after a film about bullfighting. Blood and Sand, a 1922 silent film starring Rudolph Valentino about a bullfighter who met his untimely end at the arena, inspired a muddy cocktail that is both fruity and complex. First appearing in the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, Blood and Sand consists of Scotch whisky mixed with cherry brandy, sweet vermouth, and orange juice.
The American Bar
You can order this timeless cocktail at Savoy’s American Bar, one of the oldest cocktail bars in Britain, along with its other famous creations like White Lady, Corpse Reviver, and Hanky-Panky.
Black Russian, Hotel Metropole, Brussels
Despite having Russia in its name, the Black Russian was made for an American diplomat. As the story goes, bartender Gustave Tops invented this cocktail for the U.S. Ambassador to Luxemburg, Perle Mesta, in 1949. By combining both vodka and Kahlua, Tops concocted a simple but foolproof drink that can smooth over any diplomatic negotiations.
Le 31
If you happen to visit Hotel Metropole where Tops came up with this cocktail, be sure to drop by its recently renovated “Le 31” bar. Modelled after late 19th-century style piano lounges, Le 31 is lavishly decorated with chandeliers and Art Nouveau designs. Here, you can order both Black Russian and White Russian, and even get a close-up look at Brussels’ oldest continuously operating hotel.
Irish Coffee, Buena Vista Café, San Francisco
The perfect drink for getting up warmed up on a chilly night, Irish Coffee was first invented to do exactly just that. When terrible weather forced a Pan Am flight to turn back at Foynes Airport in Ireland in 1943, Joe Sheridan, the terminal’s chef, was asked to come back for the night to prepare food. Faced with shivering passengers, Sheridan decided to serve hot coffee with Irish whiskey and topped the drink off with fresh cream. Later, Sheridan was asked if he had been serving Brazilian coffee, to which he replied: “no, it was Irish coffee”.
In 1952, San Francisco Chronicle journalist Stanton Delaplane brought the Irish Coffee recipe to the U.S. and helped Buena Vista Café owner Jack Koeppler design the modern version of this drink. Sheridan was later invited to work at the restaurant, which he did, for 10 years.
Buena Vista Café
Today, Buena Vista serves roughly 2,000 cups of Irish Coffee daily using the same recipe from more than 60 years ago.
Vieux Carre, Hotel Monteleone, New Orleans
Named after New Orleans’ French Quarter, Vieux Carre is the kind of classy, slow sipper that only the Big Easy is capable of conjuring. Velvety smooth and layered in warm, smokey notes, this Southern cocktail was first mixed by bartender Walter Bergeron at the Carousel Piano Bar & Lounge in Hotel Monteleone around 1938. A touch more sophisticated than the Sazerac but just as potent, Vieux Carre is a perfect union of rye whiskey and cognac stirred with two different types of bitters.
Carousel Bar
While this cocktail is easily overlooked even by those who frequent Bourbon Street for a good drink, you can still hunt down the original interpretation of this classic at the Carousel Bar. As iconic as the hotel it’s located in, the Carousel Bar is the only revolving bar in New Orleans and was once the favourite watering hole of Southern writers including William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Truman Capote.