You’ve probably giggled after glancing through a menu, intending to pick a drink to quench your thirst, only to be met with strange names and uncertainty about how they might taste.
Not too sure of how they might taste, especially with all these weird names, you shut the menu and tell the waiter to just make the restaurant’s special.
Others, more adventurous, try these cocktails and realise they are often made from simple ingredients, and some even taste quite normal.
Then you ask yourself: if they taste this normal, why all the fancy and weird names?
Well, let’s take a look at some popular stories behind these drinks.
Sex on the Beach
This is a famous cocktail, found in almost every restaurant you may have visited.
It is a fruity cocktail made from vodka, orange juice, cranberry juice, peach schnapps, and garnished with cherry toppings and orange slices.
The name was popularized in the 1980s by Florida bartender Ted Pizio, who created it to promote peach schnapps during Spring Break.
He named it after the two main reasons he believed tourists visited Florida: “sex” and “the beach.”
The provocative and memorable name helped make the drink a total hit.
Its non-alcoholic version is called Virgin/Safe Sex on the Beach, made from peach nectar or juice, cranberry juice, and orange juice or lemonade.
The Three Wise Men
The Three Wise Men is a whiskey cocktail made from Johnnie Walker, Jim Beam, and Jack Daniels.
Although it may seem odd to combine three whiskeys into the same shot because of its strength, it is surprisingly popular.
These specific brands are iconic whiskeys named after men who played a role in making whiskey famous.
Without these “wise men,” the world of whiskey might look very different today. This shot is considered a tribute to their collective legacy.
Mind Eraser
It may sound absurd that a cocktail made with vodka, coffee liqueur, and soda water could help keep one’s memory sane.
Created and popularised in the 1980s, the ‘Mind Eraser’ earned its name for its intense, immediate effect on the drinker.
It was often described as inducing a “brain freeze” or temporary memory loss, helping the drinker forget their worries.
Corpse Reviver
This drink is most popular for curing hangovers, particularly among heavy drinkers.
Three or four shots taken in succession and you’re “back to life”, hence the name Corpse Reviver.
It is made from gin, Lillet Blanc (a French aperitif), orange liqueur, and fresh lemon juice.
Zombie
The Zombie cocktail, named for its extreme potency, is said to have left a customer feeling like the “walking dead” after drinking it.
Invented by Donn Beach in the 1930s, the drink was designed to cure hangovers but was so strong (containing multiple types of rum) that it was eventually limited to two per customer.
It remains a famous tropical rum cocktail made from a blend of rum and fruit juices.
Between the Sheets
Created by Harry MacElhone at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris during the 1920s or 30s, the Between the Sheets cocktail earned its name because of its high potency.
Made from rum, cognac, and triple sec, it was said to have a risqué effect, with drinkers often “stumbling into bed” after consuming too many.
Frog in a Blender
This cocktail is named for its appearance and preparation method.
It typically looks like a green “frog” chopped up inside a red, slushy drink, making it popular during Halloween.
It usually consists of a red base (vodka, cranberry juice, and grenadine), with green lime wheels added but not fully blended, creating a “swampy,” dismembered look resembling a frog in a blender.
Floating on Cloud 9
The ‘Floating on Cloud 9’ cocktail is named for the blissful, euphoric feeling it provides. Drinkers often describe feeling so elated that they are “floating among the highest clouds.”
Its smooth, creamy, and sweet taste comes from whipped cream-flavored vodka, strawberry liqueur, and cream, creating a silky texture that feels like a dreamy indulgence.
Screwdriver
The Screwdriver cocktail got its name in the 1940s when American oil workers in the Persian Gulf or engineers in Turkey added vodka to orange juice.
Lacking a spoon, they stirred the drink with their work tools—specifically, a screwdriver.
Dirty Shirley
This is the alcoholic version of the ‘Shirley Temple’ mocktail.
It became the “adult” version by adding vodka or rum to the sweet mocktail, typically made from ginger ale, lemon-lime soda, grenadine, and maraschino cherries.
The ‘Dirty Shirley’ cocktail was popularized in the 1930s.
Rusty Nail
There have been claims that early versions of this drink were stirred with an actual rusty nail, lending to its name.
More commonly, it was said to be named for its pale-yellow color resembling rusted metal, its strong sharp flavor, and the myth of being stirred with a nail.
The cocktail was popularised in the 1960s although it evolved from the 1930s.
Bloody Mary
There are countless variations of the origin story for this cocktail.
In the 1920s or 30s, comedian George Jessel, credited with creating the drink, shared it with socialite Mary Brown Warburton.
She allegedly spilled the red drink on her white dress and joked, “Now you can call me Bloody Mary, George!”
Other reports claim Jessel named the drink after his friend, Mary Geraghty.
The Bloody Mary is typically made from vodka and tomato juice, seasoned with hot sauces, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and horseradish.
EB
Research tools: International Bartenders Association (IBA), liquor.com
