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By Becky Mahan, Editor
1. Long Island Iced Tea
Oak Beach Inn – Hampton Bays, New York
There is zero tea in this stop-you-in-your-tracks cocktail, which is basically comprised of all alcohol. Rosebud Butt, a bartender at the now-closed Oak Beach Inn in Hampton Bays, invented the drink that was to soon become a Spring Break favorite in 1976.
2. Piña Colada
Beachcomber Bar at Caribe Hilton – San Juan, Puerto Rico
This origin of this tropical favorite is actually hotly contested among Puerto Ricans, but the most popular theory is that it was created in the 1950s by bartender Ramón Marrero Pérez as a signature drink for the Caribe Hilton in San Juan. His native rum/pineapple/condensed milk/coconut cream concoction eventually became Puerto Rico’s national drink. Indeed, July 10th is National Piña Colada day in the PR!
3. Black Russian
Hotel Metropole – Brussels, Belgium
While the cocktail really has nothing to do with Russia (besides the vodka in it), Bartender Gustave Tops created the drink around 1950 while working at Brussels’ Hotel Metropole. Legend has it that he first mixed Kahlua and vodka by special request for Luxembourg Ambassador Perle Mesta.
4. Mimosa
Hôtel Ritz Paris – Paris, France
This simple, classy combination is thought to be created circa 1925 by Frank Meier in the Hôtel Ritz Paris. Despite its simplicity, mimosas are popular luxury drinks for first class passengers on flights, or to liven up a mid-morning brunch.
5. Singapore Sling
Raffles Hotel – Singapore
While there is debate about the exact year this was created, it’s widely believed that bartender Ngiam Tong Boon first crafted it for the Raffles Hotel’s Liong Bar in Singapore around 1912. It’s less known in the Western World, but if you want to give it a try, know that it’s a blend of equal parts gin, cherry brandy and Benedictine, finished with a dash of bitters, Cointreau, pineapple juice, lime juice, and granenadine.
Source: gogobot.com