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MARTINI
Aficionados disagree, sometimes violently, on the correct ratio of gin to dry vermouth that makes a transcendent martini, and the debate over the true origin of the martini can be just as contentious. Some claim that its simply a dryer version of an older cocktail called the Martinez; Martinez, California, the birthplace of this cocktail, thus stakes its claim to the title of birthplace of the martini. Others postulate that the drinks name simply comes from Martini & Rossi, an Italian company thats been exporting its vermouths to the U.S. since the 19th century. Still others claim that the drink was created by and named for Martini di Arma di Taggia, the bartender at New Yorks Knickerbocker Hotel, although theres evidence that the cocktail may have been invented well before he started mixing drinks.

MANHATTAN
The venerable Manhattan, a blend of whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters, is another cocktail that scores of people claimed to have invented. It may date back to the New York bar scene of the 1860s, but there are also some more intriguing tales about its origins. According to one of these legends, Jennie Churchill threw a party at the Manhattan Club in 1874 to celebrate Samuel J. Tildens victory in New Yorks gubernatorial election. An enterprising bartender created a new cocktail for the event, which he dubbed the Manhattan in the clubs honor. Both of these characters would go on to bigger things. Churchill soon gave birth to a son, Winston, and Tilden made a presidential run in 1876. (Although Tilden won the popular vote, he lost out to his Republican opponent, Rutherford B. Hayes. At least the cocktail saved Tilden from obscurity.)

TOM COLLINS
This refreshing summer drink owes its name to a 19th century hoax. In 1874, hundreds of New Yorkers heard some bad news while they were out on the town: a certain Tom Collins had been besmirching their good names. Although these people didnt know Mr. Collins, they were outraged that he would slander them, and they often set out to find the rascal. Of course, the root of the hoax was that there wasnt really a Tom Collins, but that didnt keep aggrieved parties from searching him out. To deepen the joke, bartenders started making the citrus cocktail that now bears the name, so when searchers asked for Tom Collins, they could instead find a thirstquenching long drink.

DAIQUIRI
If youre an American mine employee stuck working in Cuba, what do you do? In the case of intrepid engineer Jennings Cox, you start creatively mixing drinks. The mixture of rum, lime, and sugar supposedly sprang to life in 1905 when Cox and some of his fellow Americans were hanging out in a bar in Santiago, Cuba. By mixing together these handy ingredients, the Americans found a tasty tipple, and it eventually worked its way back to the states.

MARGARITTA
There is no solid proof who "invented" the Margarita.The most accepted of all stories is that the Margarita was invented in October 1941, atHussong's Cantinain Ensenada, Mexico, by bartender Don Carlos Orozco.One slow afternoon, Don Carlos was experimenting with mixing new drinks when a prestigious visitor arrived: Margarita Henkel, the daughter of a German ambassador, who lived with her husband Roy Parodi near the city in Rancho Hamilton. Don Carlos offered the drink to Margarita, and named it after her for being the first person to taste it.He concocted a mixture of equal parts tequila, Damiana liqueur (Cointreauor other orange liqueurs are used now) and lime, served over ice in a salt-rimmed glass.

MOJITO
Cubais the birthplace of the Mojito, although the exact origin of this classic cocktail is the subject of debate.One story traces the Mojito to a similar 16th century drink, the "El Draque", in honor of SirFrancis Drake.It was made initially withtafia/aguardiente, a primitive predecessor ofrum,but rum was used as soon as it became widely available to the British (ca. 1650). Mint, lime and sugar were also helpful in hiding the harsh taste of this spirit. While this drink was not called a Mojito at this time, it was still the original combination of these ingredients.

LONG ISLAND ICE TEA

It might not actually contain tea, but at least the Long Island part of the name is accurate. This spring break favorite is fairly young as cocktails go; its only been around for about 32 years. Rosebud Butt, a bartender at the Oak Beach Inn in Hampton Bays, invented the drink in 1976, so if you ever need to find a patron saint of terrible hangovers and nights spent falling off of barstools, Rosebud may be your man.

NEGRONI
Count Camillo Negroni gets credits for creating this aperitif around 1919. As the story goes, Negroni really loved to throw back an Americano (Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda), but he wanted a little extra zing in his glass. He asked a bartender to replace the club soda with gin to give the mixture some added kick, and the Negroni was born.

COSMOPOLITAN
Long beforeSex and the Cityhelped bolster the popularity of the cosmo, various bartenders were staking their claims as the cocktails true creator. According to various stories, the drink originated in Minneapolis, South Beach, San Francisco, Manhattan and Provincetown, Massachusetts. Since the drink is basically just a kamikaze with a simple addition of cranberry juice, its possible that bartenders in all these locations came up with the drink independently, so we may never know exactly who was responsible for putting a glass in Carrie Bradshaws hand.

BLACK RUSSIAN
Surprisingly, containing vodka is the only thing this cocktail has to do with Russia. Bartender Gustave Tops created the drink in 1949 or 1950 while working at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels. Tops supposedly first mixed the combination of Kahlua and vodka for American socialite Perle Mesta, who was serving as the ambassador to Luxembourg at the time.

LADYBOY
This cockail was created by a newspaper photographer, Phil Coburn who worksfor the London-based Sunday Mirror. One night in 2003, Phil and some colleagues were stationed in Amman, Jordan, whiletrying to get into Iraq to cover the war. To alleviate the boredom, Phil invented a dreadful cocktail which he nameda Ladyboy. Phil convinced the barman at The Intercontinental, Amman,that it was a real cocktail andhe and his colleagueshave had fun talking about it ever since. In the 2nd week of Jan 2010 in Afghanistan, Phil and his reporter, Rupert Hamer, were blown up with someselflessUS servicemen and a brave Afghanin a roadside bomb. Rupert was killed, as were two of the US servicemen and the Afghani. Phil has lost both legs below the knee but, thank God, he survived. He is in good spirits, feels lucky to be alive and is going to be a father soon.Cheers to Ladyboy!

PINA COLADA
The earliest known story states that in the 1800s, Puerto Rican pirateRoberto Cofres("El Pirata Cofres"), to boost his crew's morale he gave them a beverage or cocktail that contained coconut, pineapple and white rum.This was what would be later known as the famous pia colada. With his death in 1825, the recipe for the pia colada was lost. The earliest known reference to a drink specifically called a pia colada is fromTRAVEL magazine, December1922: But best of all is a pia colada, the juice of a perfectly ripe pineapplea delicious drink in itselfrapidly shaken up with ice, sugar, lime and Bacardi rum in delicate proportions. What could be more luscious, more mellow and more fragrant?

SEX ON THE BEACH

Granted its a shallow name for a simply sweet cocktail designed to get the girls drunk, but someone mentioned something that really caught my attention. They claimed that the sex-on-the-beach cocktail was invented by bartenders in Miami Beach, Florida during the (first) William Kennedy Smith rape trial back in 1991. As the story goes Smith and the woman he met at a bar took a walk on the beach where the alleged rape took place. Smith was acquitted of all charges, but in the media storm that surrounded the proceedings much hay was made about the drunken state of the woman and bartenders began serving this drink as little play on the cultural obsession of the moment.

BLOODY MARY
Thename"Bloody Mary" is associated with a number of historical figures particularlyQueen Mary I of Englandand fictional women fromfolklore. Some drink aficionados believe the inspiration for the name was Hollywood starMary Pickford. Others trace the name to a waitress named Mary who worked at a Chicago bar called the Bucket of Blood.

B 52
The name refers to the USB-52 Stratofortresslong-rangebomber. This bomber was used in the Vietnam Warfor the release ofincendiary bombs, which likely inspired today's flaming variant of the cocktail. The drink became a North London favourite in late 2009 whenArsenalstrikerNicklas Bendtner changed his shirt number from 26 to 52, earning himself the nickname "B52" in the process. After the tall Dane scored the winner in a league cup tie withLiverpoolon 28 October 2009, local Islington bars reported a huge surge in the popularity of the shooter. A barmaid at The Bailey pub on Holloway Road recounted a story from the night: "It was mayhem. One lanky bloke ordered shots for the whole bar after he [Bendtner] scored. I didn't even know how to make a B52.

BRANDY ALEXANDER
Brandy Alexanderis a sweet,brandy-basedcocktailconsisting ofCognacandCrme de cacaothat became popular during the early 20th century. It was supposedly created at the time of the wedding ofPrincess MaryandViscount Lascelles, in London, in 1922. The Brandy Alexander is based on an earlier, gin-based cocktail called simply an "Alexander". Although commonly thought to be named after the drama critic/celebrityAlexanderWoollcott, the drink is believed to have been named after the tsar,Alexander II of Russia.

Alcohol is like love. The first kiss is magic, the second is intimate, the third is routine. After that you take the girl's clothes off. RAYMOND CHANDLER

"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.ERNEST HEMINGWAY

"Alcohol whipped me. Alcohol and I had many, many marvelous times together. We laughed, we talked, we danced at the party together; then one day I woke up and the band had gone home and I was lying in the broken glass with a shirt full of puke and I said, 'Hey, man, the ball game's up'. HARRY CREWS

"I was carrying a beautiful alcoholic conflagration around with me. The thing fed on its own heat and flamed the fiercer. There was no time, in all my waking time, that I didn't want a drink. I began to anticipate the completion of my daily thousand words by taking a drink when only five hundred words were written. It was not long until I prefaced the beginning of the thousand words with a drink. JACK LONDON

"Drinking is an emotional thing. It joggles you out of the