Screwdriver (cocktail)
Encyclopedia
A screwdriver is a popular highball
drink made with fresh orange juice
and vodka
. Outside the US, it is often referred to as "vodka and orange". While the basic drink is simply the two ingredients, there are many variations, many of these with multiple names, that can be found all over the world.
:
"In the dimly lighted bar of the sleek Park Hotel, Turkish intelligence agents mingle with American engineers and Balkan refugees, drinking the latest Yankee concoction of vodka and orange juice, called a 'screwdriver'."
The drink reportedly got its name because American petroleum engineers in Saudi Arabia
secretly added vodka to small cans of orange juice and stirred the mixture with their screwdrivers.
Highball
Highball is a type of alcoholic drinkHighball may also refer to:* Highball glass, a drinking vessel* Highball Wilson , professional baseball pitcher* the British Highball bouncing bomb project from World War 2...
drink made with fresh orange juice
Orange juice
Orange juice is a popular beverage made from oranges. It is made by extraction from the fresh fruit, by desiccation and subsequent reconstitution of dried juice, or by concentration of the juice and the subsequent addition of water to the concentrate...
and vodka
Vodka
Vodka , is a distilled beverage. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol with traces of impurities and flavorings. Vodka is made by the distillation of fermented substances such as grains, potatoes, or sometimes fruits....
. Outside the US, it is often referred to as "vodka and orange". While the basic drink is simply the two ingredients, there are many variations, many of these with multiple names, that can be found all over the world.
History
The earliest written reference to the screwdriver is from the October 24, 1949, issue of TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
:
"In the dimly lighted bar of the sleek Park Hotel, Turkish intelligence agents mingle with American engineers and Balkan refugees, drinking the latest Yankee concoction of vodka and orange juice, called a 'screwdriver'."
The drink reportedly got its name because American petroleum engineers in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
secretly added vodka to small cans of orange juice and stirred the mixture with their screwdrivers.
Variations
- The 'Persian screwdriver', mix one can of frozen orange juice concentrate with one handleHandleHandle may refer to:* Handle , a grip attached to an object for using or moving the object, such as a door handle* Handle , a topological ball* Handle , a particular kind of smart pointer...
of vodka. - The 'poor man's screwdriver' is one part vodka, and two parts orange drink mix, such as SunnyDSunnyDSunny Delight is a popular orange-flavored drink, manufactured until recently by Procter & Gamble. It produced an estimated $450 million in revenue for Procter & Gamble in 2004.-History:...
. - Replacing the flat orange juice with a carbonated orange drink such as OranginaOranginaOrangina is a carbonated citrus beverage made from orange, lemon, mandarin, and grapefruit juice. The concept of Orangina originated at a trade fair in France and was first marketed in Algeria by the French Algerian Léon Beton...
produces a cocktail known as a Hi-Fi. - A Screwdriver in which TangTang (drink)Tang is a fruit-flavored breakfast drink. Originally formulated by General Foods Corporation food scientist William A. Mitchell in 1957, it was first marketed in powdered form in 1959....
is substituted for the orange juice is known as a "fuzzy cosmonaut" or a "Tang banger". - To make the beverage more palatable a sweet liquor is often added such as AmarettoAmarettoAmaretto is an Italian sweet almond-flavoured liqueur. It is made from a base of apricot or almond pits, sometimes both.-Etymology:The name is a diminutive of the Italian amaro, meaning "bitter," indicating the distinctive flavour lent by the mandorla amara--the bitter almond or the drupe kernel...
. This is often referred to as a Samerreto. - The well known Harvey WallbangerHarvey WallbangerThe Harvey Wallbanger is an alcoholic beverage or cocktail made with vodka, Galliano, and orange juice.-History:The Harvey Wallbanger is reported to have been invented in 1952 by three-time world champion mixologist Donato 'Duke' Antone , the brother-in-law of New York state Senator Carlo Lanzillotti...
cocktail is a screwdriver with a splash of GallianoGalliano (drink)Liquore Galliano L'Autentico, known more commonly as Galliano, is a sweet herbal liqueur, created in 1896 by Italian distiller and brandy producer Arturo Vaccari of Livorno, Tuscany. Vaccari named the spirit after Giuseppe Galliano, an Italian hero of the First Italo–Ethiopian War at the end of...
floated on top. - In some cases, sloe ginSloe ginSloe gin is a red liqueur flavoured with sloe berries, which are a small fruit relative of the plum. Sloe gin has an alcohol content between 15 and 30 percent by volume. The traditional way of making sloe gin is to infuse gin with the berries. Sugar is required to ensure the sloe juices are...
is added as part of the drink. It is referred to as a "sloe screw", or if in a tall glass, a "long sloe screw", used as a pun on sexual intercourseSexual intercourseSexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
. Adding Southern ComfortSouthern ComfortSouthern Comfort is an American liqueur made from neutral spirits with fruit, spice and whiskey flavourings. The brand was originally created by bartender Martin Wilkes Heron in New Orleans in 1874, and is now owned by the Brown-Forman Corporation...
to this creates a "sloe comfortable screw", and Galliano (as in the Wallbanger) a "sloe screw against the wall". - Vodka, peach schnapps, and orange juice is a fuzzy screw.
- Replacing the orange juice with apple juice is known as the Anita BryantAnita BryantAnita Jane Bryant is an American singer, former Miss Oklahoma beauty pageant winner, and gay rights opponent. She scored four Top 40 hits in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including "Paper Roses", which reached #5...
, in reference to the boycott against the Florida Citrus Commission that started in 1978. - Vodka and prune juice make a piledriver.
- A screwdriver with dark rum added is called a brass monkeyBrass Monkey (cocktail)Brass Monkey is a name given to a number of different cocktail recipes. As with many lesser-known cocktails that are named after colloquial expressions, there are some wildly differing recipes that share the same name....
. - An electric screwdriver is equal parts vodka and tequila with orange juice and energy drinkEnergy drinkEnergy drinks are beverages whose producers advertise that they "boost energy." These advertisements usually do not emphasize energy derived from the sugar and caffeine they contain but rather increased energy release due to a variety of stimulants and vitamins....
. - A screw-up is a screwdriver with a splash of 7-UP on top.
- A jackhammer uses whiskey in lieu of vodka.
- A Screwdriver with equal parts vodka and Blue Curaçao is a Sonic ScrewdriverSonic screwdriverThe sonic screwdriver is a fictional tool in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spinoffs. It is a multifunctional tool used by The Doctor. Its most common function is that of a lockpick, but can be used to perform other operations such as performing medical scans,...
.