Food - Drink
The Debated Origins Of The Screwdriver Cocktail
By CHRIS SANDS
The Screwdriver cocktail consists of only vodka and orange juice, and is a relatively new beverage in America, since vodka only became popular in the U.S. in the 1940s. While that timeframe is a good hint, the actual origins of the Screwdriver are debatable, and it's difficult to prove any of its origin stories as fact.
VinePair links the cocktail's invention to American Marines during World War II, but Oxford Reference says that American airmen stationed in Ankara, Turkey dubbed the drink a "Screwdriver" in 1943. The cocktail itself may have predated its modern name, and later origin stories also imply this idea.
A 1949 Time Magazine article claims the cocktail was invented at New York City's Park Hotel, where it was a favorite of Turkish spies and American engineers. However, some say the drink actually comes from the Persian Gulf, where American roughnecks in local oil fields stirred their vodka and orange juice with actual screwdrivers.