Martinis to mimosas, 7 classic cocktails' origins, from a New York bar to a Brussels hotel

South China Morning Post

07-05-2025

Classic cocktails are an integral part of bar culture worldwide. Some, like the martini, have achieved cult status through Bond films. Others are the subject of legends.
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Which bars first mixed these well-known drinks? We tracked down the places where seven world-famous drinks were made.
1. The piña colada
Drinks made with rum, pineapple and coconut have long been a core part of beverage culture in the Caribbean.
Although drinks containing coconut, pineapple and rum have long been a part of beverage culture in the Caribbean, the piña colada is said to have been invented in 1954 in the Puerto Rican capital San Juan. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
The Puerto Rican pirate captain Roberto Cofresi is said to have given his ship's crew a mixed drink like this back in the early 19th century. But the name piña colada (sieved pineapple) was attributed to a drink in Cuba by Travel Magazine in 1922.
Nevertheless, the cocktail has been Puerto Rico's national drink since 1978.
According to the Caribe Hilton beach hotel in the capital, San Juan, the bartender at the Caribar there, Ramón 'Monchito' Marrero, created the recipe in 1954 after months of experimentation using rum, coconut cream, whipped cream, pineapple juice and crushed ice, topped with a piece of pineapple and a cocktail cherry.
2. The martini