Can you identify the ingredients in a martini, cosmopolitan, Manhattan, Mai Tai, Long Island Iced Tea, Harvey Wallbager and more? See how well you know your cocktails.
Cocktail Ingredients Quiz
Crazy for Cosmopolitans? You'll need vodka, Cointreau or triple sec, lime juice, and one other ingredient to shake 'em up at home.
Grenadine
Orange juice
Cranberry juice
Pink grapefruit juice
Some folks get fancy with the recipe, but a traditionally-made Mai Tai gets its signature flavor from lime juice, dark rum, grenadine (or simple syrup), curacao and what other key ingredient?
Almond syrup
Mango juice
Coconut milk
Orange juice
Shaking up vodka, cream, and this variety of liqueur results in a White Russian.
Coffee
White chocolate
Vanilla
Peppermint
The rim of a Sidecar glass is coated in what tasty substance?
Sugar
Salt
Cocoa
Honey
The non-alcoholic classic Shirley Temple contains ginger ale (or lemon-lime soda), orange juice and a sweet splash of what?
Fruit punch
Cranberry juice
Grenadine
Pineapple juice
Vodka or gin would need just this ingredient to be shaken or stirred into a gimlet.
Roses Lime Juice Cordial
Olive juice
Fresh lime juice
Pickle juice
Rye (or bourbon), vermouth, bitters and a cherry are the components of which classic cocktail?
Negroni
Old Fashioned
Manhattan
Rob Roy
Mix up rum, lime and Coca-Cola to make this drink.
Cuba Libre
El Presidente
Bronx
Corpse Reviver
Mint, sugar, lime, soda water and this liquor come together to be muddled into a mojito.
Cachaca
Tequila
Rum
Pisco
Standard ingredients in a Negroni include gin, vermouth and what other liquid?
Lemon juice
Egg whites
Angostura bitters
Campari
It's not just a punchline -- the Harvey Wallbanger is a fern bar staple featuring vodka, orange juice, and this odd liqueur.
Goldschlager
Rumplemintz
Galliano
Peach Schnaaps
When this is popped into a Martini in lieu of an olive, it becomes a Gibson.
Jalapeno pepper
Lime wedge
Gherkin
Cocktail onion
James Bond may be more commonly associated with the Martini, but writer Ian Fleming also had him slugging down Vespers, which are concocted from Lillet Blanc and which two liquors?
Brandy & Scotch
Gin & Vodka
Vodka & Bourbon
Bourbon & Brandy
Mix orange juice and this spirit for a hard-hitting Screwdriver.
Rum
Vodka
Champagne
Whiskey
Sure, you could ask for a vodka & cranberry with a lime wedge, but it's much more festive to order it this way:
Greyhound
Salty Dog
Cape Cod
Madras
If you've got bourbon, mint, and a splash of soda, you're on the right track to make the Derby Day classic, a Mint Julep. What's still missing?
Lime
Sugar
Bitters
Nothing
The Bloody Mary is a brunch standard, but this addition transforms it into a hearty Bloody Bull.
Beef broth
Red Bull
A whole hot pepper
Pepper vodka
Creme de menthe and cream are terribly tasty together, but if you want a Grasshopper, hop to the store for a bottle of:
Vanilla vodka
Creme de Cacao
Green food coloring
Mint extract
A Greyhound gets its distinctive flavor from vodka and this mixer:
Sweetened lime juice
Pineapple juice
Cranberry and orange juice
Grapefruit juice
We all know that a Long Island Iced Tea has no tea in the mix, but what liquor isn't part of the standard recipe?
Another legendary American drinking/dining outpost is under threat of demolition. San Francisco's Tonga Room, located in the Fairmont Hotel, may be forced out after more than seven decades of pushing Mai Tai and pu-pu. It seems the tower of the Fairmont in which the Tonga and its adjacent Hurricane Bar located is slated for redevelopment into condominiums. Plans for the new construction do not include the restaurant.
No definitive word has been said, but blogs and forums are buzzing over the developments and petitions are circulating to save the tiki landmark. Now, some may say that the Tonga's food is somewhat meh or the drinks are overpriced, but who can argue with an indoor rainstorm? Or an indoor lagoon with a band floating on a little raft playing luau music? Multi-headed goddesses and a buffet in a canoe?
The Tonga underwent a big-budget renovation only last year, so it seems silly to tear it down now but, hey, it also seems silly to build luxury condos during a real estate downturn.
United Airlines first and business class passengers flying between Hawaii and Japan will be served some of Trader Vic's Polynesian cuisine starting Jan. 9, 2007. Trader Vic's design chef Paul Fabre worked with United's Executive Chef Gerry Gulli to design the menu exclusively for United Airlines.
Dinners will include pan seared lamb chops with chutney, Miso glazed halibut with sake lemon grass sauce, and pan seared filet mignon with bearnaise sauce; and an ice cream sundae.
Charlie Ahmes, United's vice president of Onboard Service says "We're excited to partner with Trader Vic's once again to develop a memorable in-flight experience for our customers traveling to and from Hawaii. Our customers' vacation begins once they set foot on a United flight, and being able to serve award-winning cuisine is an added complement to their overall travel experience."
Like many urban hipsters of my generation, I have a weakness for artifacts that capture the boozy vibe of the WW II era, you know, cocktail shakers, Thin Man movies and the like. As such, I also have a soft spot for every kind of ephemera related to such nostalgia-soaked Tiki bars as Trader's Vic's.
Whilst trolling through boingboing I learned that Trader Vic Bergeron had more claim to fame than mixing up the first mai tai. Seems he also had a keen sense for timely political cartoons.
The boingboing poster says he spotted this image from a WW II era menu sign while visiting Hawaii. When I saw it, I could barely make it out. Let me assure you, upon magnification the cartoon depicts Mussolini as a jackass, Hitler as a skunk and Hirohito as a rattlesnake. The legend reads: "Due to these three Lousy Dirty Stinkers you're eating off paper instead of my grass mats." - Trader Vic, Oakland.
Promoting any agenda on a menu is uncalled for, even though the Trader was right. God knows it's better than shilling for toys.
United Airlines is going native. Polynesian to be specific. The airline has teamed up with Trader Vic's, and will start serving island cuisine on flights to Hawaii this month.
Of course that means that mai tais will be on the menu. After all, Trader Vic Bergeron invented the potent fruity cocktail more than 70 years ago. The main course for those flying first class includes macadamia nut-crusted mahi mahi, Trader Vic's barbeque-glazed short ribs and pan-seared chicken with miso-sake sauce.
Sadly, the economy class menu is not quite as luxe and costs $5. It includes such tropical sandwiches as Maui chicken. But there's always those mai tais.
We posted
recently about the new developments over at the Beverly Hilton. The new
owners have proposed tearing down parts of the property in order to build new luxury condos. Part of the tear-down
strategy includes Trader Vic's, the old-school Hollywood
hangout and original creator of the island-inspired Mai Tai.
Recently I was at the Beverly Hilton blogging the Milken Global Economics
Conference and had an opportunity to stroll over to Trader Vic's for an after-conference cocktail. I ordered a Mai
Tai, which definitely has an old-school Hollywood price of $12.
However much I balked at the ridiculous ticket price, the Mai Tai at Trader Vic's is worth it. There is definitely
$12's worth of alcohol in that glass. If for nothing else, it's worth a trip to to the restaurant before it's torn
down just to say that you had a Mai Tai where Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra could have sipped the same drink. Or,
you can make the same Trader Vic's recipe at home.
Pour 2 oz of 17-year old J. Wray & Nephew Rum over shaved ice. Add juice from one
fresh lime, ½ oz Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao, ¼ oz Trader Vic's
Rock Candy Syrup, ½ oz French Garnier Orgeat Syrup, then shake vigorously. Add a sprig
of fresh mint. The Trader Vic's plastic toothpick with maraschinlo cherry and pineapple wedge is optional.
You might not know exactly where the Beverly Hilton is in
Beverly Hills, but you certainly know about the Beverly Hilton if you watch the Golden Globe Awards, which are
hosted there every year. The "new" owner, who purchased the hotel from Merv Griffin two years ago, has planned
to tear down some existing structures on the hotel's property to build condos, including the old-school Trader Vic's restaurant. Apparently, the legendary
Polynesian restaurant, famous as the godfather of the Mai Tai, is one of the hotel "elements that
no longer work."
United Airlines 
Like many urban hipsters of my generation, I have a weakness for artifacts that capture the boozy vibe of the WW II era, you know, cocktail shakers, 
United Airlines is going native. Polynesian to be specific. The airline has teamed up with 
We 
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