SCREWDRIVER (COCKTAIL)

A 'Screwdriver' is a cocktail made with orange juice and vodka, created sometime before October 24, 1949 (see Earliest Reference).
It is also known simply as a Vodka and Orange.

Contents

Earliest Reference

The Iranian Connection

Variations

Healthiest Drink?

External links

Earliest Reference

The earliest reference to the Screwdriver is from the October 24, 1949 issue of ''Time'':
"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 Iranian Connection

One of the stories regarding the creation of the Screwdriver cocktail refers to Iranian Oil Workers mixing their vodka and orange juice with screwdrivers, hence the name. The first reference to oil workers in Iran creating the Screwdriver comes in an article from the April 1965 issue of ''House & Garden'', "Cocktail lore and legend":

"...the screwdriver, which tastes like orange juice but is considerably more potent, is believed to have originated with American oil workers in Iran who drank vodka and orange juice, stirring it with screwdrivers they carried attached to their fatigue pants by loops."

Variations

Replacing the flat orange juice with a carbonated orange drink, such as Fanta, produces a cocktail known as a 'Hi-Fi'.
A screwdriver in which the orange juice is substituted for Tang is known as a "fuzzy cosmonaut".
To make the beverage more palatable a sweet liquor is often added such as Amaretto. In the "collar city" (Troy, NY) this is often referred to as a Samerreto.
Another variation occurs when the ratio of the components is switched. When mixed as 1 part orange juice and two parts vodka, it is referred to as a 'Drivescrewer'.
The well known Harvey Wallbanger cocktail is a Screwdriver with a splash of Galliano floated on top.

Healthiest Drink?

Back in the early 1970's, drinkers used to justify drinking Screwdrivers above all other drinks.
It was commonly believed it was the healthiest alcoholic drink, because it was half orange juice and it had Vitamin C and other good ingredients to prevent cirrhosis of the liver.

External links

★ Bartenders Database: Screwdriver