Thanks for contributing to today’s video! I put a poll on my YouTube community tab and in the STB Facebook Crew ( and these were some of the most popular answers! Comment below your country and what is the ‘national’ cocktail (not necessarily your personal favourite) to get your country featured in the next part of Cocktails from Around the World!!
USA – MANHATTAN
The Manhattan was created around 1880 at the New York City’s Manhattan Club. The recipe still gets served as it did back almost 150 years ago. Traditionally it is created with a rye whiskey which exhibits spicier notes but bourbon whiskey is also a common choice.
Some great variants include the Black Manhattan ( and the Rob Roy (
INGREDIENTS
– 60 mL Rye Whiskey (2 oz)
– 30 mL Sweet Vermouth (1 oz)
– 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
– 1 dash Orange Bitters
ITALY – VENETIAN SPRITZ
The Spritz originates back to the 1800s. The Austrians felt the Italian wine was too strong so they served it with a splash of sparkling water.
The Spritz then evolved into the Venetian Spritz, incorporating the bitter component – bitter liqueurs including Select, Aperol, Campari or Cynar. The Venetian Spritz has transformed over the years and is now commonly made using a sparkling white (Prosecco) and is garnished with an orange slice.
INGREDIENTS
– 90ml Prosecco (3 oz)
– 60ml Bitter Liqueur (2 oz)
– 30ml Sparkling Water (1 oz)
JAPAN – WHISKEY HIGHBALL
The Whiskey Highball is an incredibly simple 2-ingredient cocktail (or mixed drink?) – whiskey and club soda. It was born back in the early 1900s and can showcase your favourite whiskey in a refreshing way.
INGREDIENTS
– 60 ml Japanese Whiskey (2 oz)
– Club Soda
ARGENTINA – FERNET CON COCA
Fernet con Coca is a simple highball consisting of Fernet Branca (an Italian amaro) and Coca Cola.
The Fernet Branca team noticed that their sales were significantly higher in Argentina in the 1980s due to a younger generation of drinkers that were consuming Fernet and Coke. They created an extremely successful marketing campaign and in no time Argentina became the highest consumers of Fernet Branca in the world. In fact, Argentinians drink 75% of the world’s Fernet Branca and Argentina is also home to the only Fernet Branca distillery outside of Italy (to keep up with demand!).
INGREDIENTS
– 1 part Fernet Branca
– 1 part Coca Cola
CANADA – BLOOD CAESAR
The Bloody Caesar has several creators but it was Walter Chell that named it the Bloody Caesar in 1969 and popularised it. Since then it has become the national drink of Canada.
Preceding this there was an almost identical drink called the Smirnoff Smiler (1953) and the Clam Digger (1968).
INGREDIENTS
– 45 ml Vodka (1.5 oz)
– 120 ml Clamato Juice (4 oz)
– 2 dashes Worcestershire
– 2 dashes Tabasco
– 1 tsp Horseradish (optional)
Music – Nine One Nine – Sarah, the Illstrumentalist