The Atomic cocktail is a champagne cocktail that was popularized by the Las VegasChamber of Commerce and casinos such as the Flamingo in the 1950s during a period of time when Vegas was known as the "Atomic City" and as a reaction to the popular culture of the atomic age. The name may also be used generically to refer to one of many similarly themed cocktails dealing with atoms, nuclear fission, or rocket flights that were created around this same period. Such cocktails were perhaps most famously served in the panoramic Sky Room of the Desert Inn, which had the highest view in the city at the time and where people "drank like fish" and sang songs as they watched the bombs detonate.
Atomic cocktail recipe
An Atomic cocktail recipe as described by noted cocktail historian David Wondrich calls for equal parts vodka and brandy that is either stirred or shaken with a small amount of sherry, then strained, and finally mixed with Brut champagne, frequently described as being garnished with an orange wedge. A US Armyinformation film from the era featured some versions that were actively bubbling, likely the effect of dry ice.
"Atomic cocktails" as used generically
The atomic age, jet age and space age influenced popular culture in terms of architecture, furniture, fabrics, and style, and began to popularize many such themed cocktail names during these times. In his book Atomic Cocktails, Gideon Bosker discusses the term and lists drink recipes inspired from this period with such names as the Rocket Man, Apricot Fission, and Cognac Zoom. Its Ray Gun cocktail calls for 2 oz. of green Chartreuse mixed with 1 oz. of blue Curaçao and ice, strained, and topped off with champagne. The Oppenheimer Martini is a recipe allegedly modified by the scientist when he was unable to sneak enough vermouth into top secret facilities. Sven Kirsten, who wrote The Book of Tiki, called tiki bars “the emotional bomb shelter of the Atomic Age.” Jeff Berry in the Beachbum Berry Remixed drink guide noted that almost every tiki bar served cocktails with names like the Flying Saucer and Star Fire. Some tiki drinks had names related to more basic aviation prior to this, such as Donn Beach's Q.B. Cooler and Test Pilot, and Trader Vic's two person PB2Y cocktail. Trader Vic's revised Bartender's Guide later listed newer Space Needle, Panoramic Punch and Milky Way cocktails.
Potential name origins or influences
In nuclear medicine, an atomic cocktail is also used to describe a real-life radioactive mixture that is drunk by patients with hyperthyroidism and was discovered in 1941 through the work of Dr. Saul Hertz and others.
The Atomic Cocktail song was released by Slim Gaillard in 1945 and included the following lyrics:
"It’s the drink that you don’t pour, now when you take one sip you won’t need anymore You’re small as a beetle or big as a whale, Boom! Atomic Cocktail"
Bars
is a historic bar in Las Vegas that sells Atomic cocktails. Owners at the time Joe and Stella Sobchik renamed their bar Atomic Liquors in 1952. The Aero Club Bar is a highly rated bar in San Diego.
Additional resources
Smithsonian video: How 1950s Las Vegas sold atomic bomb testing as tourism
