Cocktail Culture
ILLUSTRATION
My Stamp Collection showcases a variety of different cocktails and where they originate from. This series aims to promote cultural and ethnic awareness by celebrating different mixed drinks that were created in various countries. Using a muted silhouette of the origin country in the background, the bright and bold colors of each cocktail stick out. Each mixed drink is accompanied by its ingredients and a large title, proudly stating where it is from.
Tools
Procreate, Photoshop
ITALY | Bellini
The story of the Bellini starts at Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy. It is said that Giuseppe, a bartender at Harry’s, was a peach lover. One day he decided to puree white peaches and add them to prosecco. Giuseppe's original recipe calls for two parts Prosecco and one part fresh peach puree, served in a chilled Champagne flute. The name for Giuseppe’s drink comes from an Italian Renaissance painter, Giovanni Bellini, whose work resembles the sunset colors found in the drink. The bellini soon caught on in Venice and spread to major cities like New York and Paris. Now it can be found on drink menus all around the world.
SPAIN | Sangria
Sangria first originated in Spain, when they began planting grapes to make wine for trading with the Romans. The wine was soon the main drink in Spain for people of all ages as it was a safe method of drinking water. Adding alcohol to water helped to kill bacteria and make sure the water was clean. To make things more fun, households started adding other fruits and spices to the wine. These ingredients eventually turned into what we now know as the traditional Spanish Sangria.
PUERTO RICO | Piña Colada
The story of the Piña Colada originates from the Caribe Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The bartender Ramon Monchito first created the drink as a milkshake in a shaker with coconut cream, vanilla ice cream, and pineapple juice. Due to the number of adults that stayed at the hotel, Monchito added coconut rum to the drink as well. It soon became very popular among the guests and became harder to make for large crowds. To speed up the process, Monchito began using a blender to combine the drink, creating what we now know as the traditional Piña Colada.
IRELAND | Irish Coffee
Irish Coffee was first created by Joe Sheridan, a chef who worked at Foynes Port near Limerick, Ireland. The airbase became extremely popular in Europe during World War II and for political and celebrity figures for transatlantic flights. Passengers who were required to stay the night due to weather needed a restaurant to fulfill their needs. Joe Sheridan decided to create the drink with a combination of black coffee, brown sugar, whiskey, and cream for the cold and tired passengers.
(This is also one of my favorites!).
FRANCE | Mimosa
The story of the Mimosa begins at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Frank Meier, a bartender working at the Ritz Hotel, created the drink based on the already popular “Buck’s Fizz”. The only difference between these two drinks is the ratio between champagne and juice. If you prefer more champagne than juice, you are actually drinking something that more closely resembles Buck’s Fizz. The Mimosa’s name originated from a golden yellow shrub named Acacia dealbata, otherwise known as Mimosa.
CUBA | Mojito
The Mojito originates back in Havana, Cuba. It is believed to have been first created by South American Indians when they were traveling and collected all the ingredients. The original concoction contains aguardiente de caña (boiled water), a crude to rum, lime, sugarcane juice, and mint. It is believed that the original Mojito was used as medicine to help prevent disease on the island of Cuba. The Mojito that we know today is very similar to the original, consisting of white rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water, and mint.
