“Shaken, not stirred.”

Perhaps the most recognizable film franchise across generations, everyone – from geriatrics to Gen Zs – knows just how James Bond prefers his martinis. 

Make no mistake: cocktails are far more than a fun way to wet your beak; they’re a cultural phenomenon. With more than two centuries of punch-drunk history preceding our favourite mixed drinks, the stories of their origin are more voluminous and brighter than the drinks themselves.

We’ve done our utmost to distill a brief cocktail history, ensuring all the best bits are mentioned and credit is given where it’s due. From their alleged inspiration by British punches (big bowls of spirits mixed with fruit juices, spices, and other flavours) to a few of the most famous cocktails and their inventors, it’s officially Cocktail Tales O’clock.

Mix up your top liquor with a twist and swig it back as we unravel its very makings.

Tall Cocktails: The Colourful Origin of Classic Drinks

Here’s a 10-step breakdown of our history of cocktails based on hours of research and sieving out the lame, inane, and downright insane information swirling around out there. 

Famous Cocktails and Their Inventors

Martini

Margarita

With numerous inception stories zestier than the lime juice that it contains, the much-loved margarita comes with tales fueled by tequila.

One of the better pieces of fantastic cocktail history stories belongs to the Marg; it involves American socialite, Margarita Sames, and her band of merry friends for whom she concocted the drink at her Aculpuco villa gathering in 1948.

Earlier claims give props for the margarita to Mexican bartenders who mixed the drinks as a festive twist on the tequila shot, served complete with salt and lime.

Mojito

Well, no one is denying the origins of this drink: the one and only Havana, Cuba, baby!

Coming straight from the steamy streets among the swirling cigar smoke, the mojito has a cocktail history that reflects Cuba’s kaleidoscopic culture. This thirst-quenching masterpiece is made from white rum, sugar (the real method uses sugar cane juice), lime, soda water, and mint.

Adding to its legendary status is that it was forever immortalized in the famous writings of Ernest Hemingway, who fell in love with the drink during his time in Cuba. 
 

Fast Fun Facts About Cocktails

• The largest cocktail ever made was a 10,499-gallon margarita which gave Nick Nicora a Guinness World Record title in Sacramento, California in 2012.
  

• The most expensive cocktail in the world is the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo’s Diamonds Are Forever Martini, featuring a one-carat diamond alongside Absolut Elyx Vodka – if you’re interested in buying it, be prepared to fork out a cool $18,500USD.
  

• Undeniably, the grossest cocktail ever invented has to be the Sourtoe Cocktail. Somehow conceived of in Dawson, Yukon Territory in Canada, this drink is served cold with an amputated toe. A cocktail history we think best remains uncovered.
  

• The most complicated cocktail to make must be the Commonwealth cocktail, containing 71 ingredients to honor the 71 countries competing in the Commonwealth games.
  

• The most cocktails made in one minute goes to Sheldon Wiley – 18 cocktails in one minute brought him the world record in 2013. He went on to make 1905 cocktails in one hour in 2014. Now that’s making cocktail history!

Cocktail History You Can Chew On