Screwdriver
Vodka and fresh orange juice — the 1949 Time magazine documentation of American oil workers stirring vodka into OJ with screwdrivers in the Middle East.
- 1Fill a highball glass with ice cubes.
- 2Pour vodka over the ice.
- 3Add fresh orange juice and stir gently.
- 4Garnish with an orange slice.
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The Screwdriver's most popular origin story attributes the drink to American oil workers in Saudi Arabia or Iran during the postwar era, who secretly stirred vodka into their canned orange juice using screwdrivers when no bar tools were available. The first documented reference by name appears in a 1949 issue of Time magazine, which described American engineers quietly combining vodka and orange juice in the Middle East. Whether or not the legend is accurate, the Screwdriver became a foundational vodka cocktail in the American repertoire during the 1950s, when the spirit was still relatively unfamiliar. Its simplicity — just vodka and orange juice — made it one of the most effective introduction vehicles for vodka, and the vitamin C in the orange juice created the perception of nutritional redemption that made the combination feel appropriately casual and unguarded.
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