The mixed-drink name game
By Owen Morris in Booze
Wednesday, Feb. 4 2009 @ 11:00AM
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Named after Chesley Sullenberger, better known as Captain Sully the heroic U.S. Airways pilot, "The Sully" is already showing up on New York menus. U.S. Airways menus can't be far behind.
"The Sully" is simple to make: two shots Grey Goose, one splash water.
I've heard it goes down smoother than anybody knew possible. (Sorry. Couldn't resist.) Actually, it sounds rather gross -- vodka and water isn't a great combo -- but the name makes it irresistible. And names matter a great deal in mixed drinks.
Take the Cuba Libre or its more working-class name, rum and coke. A bartender will tell you they're not the same thing and technically they aren't, because a Cuba Libre contains a lime. The difference between a Gibson and a Martini? The Gibson uses an onion instead of an olive for the garnish. Salty dog and a greyhound? The salty dog has salt on the rim of the glass.
A case study: Bacardi 151 may be the foulest liquor this side of Everclear, and this KC Beer Blog post reminded me of the different shots I used to create with it.
Ask any sane person to take a shot of Bacardi 151 and the answer is no.
Ask somebody to take a rainbow delight and your odds increase
considerably. The rainbow delight is Bacardi 151 with a dash of
grenadine for color and whipped cream on top -- just to cover the fact that
this is a nasty-tasting drink with a terribly misleading name.
Why would anyone create such a drink? Several years ago, shot books became a popular way to immortalize a birthday. A party guest orders birthday guy/girl a shot and takes a photo of the birthday person doing the shot and records it in a book. Having gone to several of these parties, I started looking for ways to make the pictures funnier -- such as spending two seconds in advance telling a bartender what a rainbow delight is and what you plan on doing. Of the dozen or so bartenders I actually had make rainbow delights, most of them got a kick out of it.
As for the birthday folks, not so much. But hey, they have wonderful photos of themselves grimacing on their birthdays.
Why would anyone create such a drink? Several years ago, shot books became a popular way to immortalize a birthday. A party guest orders birthday guy/girl a shot and takes a photo of the birthday person doing the shot and records it in a book. Having gone to several of these parties, I started looking for ways to make the pictures funnier -- such as spending two seconds in advance telling a bartender what a rainbow delight is and what you plan on doing. Of the dozen or so bartenders I actually had make rainbow delights, most of them got a kick out of it.
As for the birthday folks, not so much. But hey, they have wonderful photos of themselves grimacing on their birthdays.
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