Nutcracker (drink)


A nutcracker is a type of alcoholic drink consisting of a mixture of hard liquor and sugary beverages such as fruit juice. Nutcrackers are made and sold illicitly mainly in black and Hispanic communities of New York City.
The drinks are made and sold by private individuals, often to supplement their income from other jobs. They consist of such liquors as vodka, rum, tequila and cognac, mixed with fruit juice, Kool-Aid or candy. They are sold, mainly in summer, on the streets and on the beaches in cups or small plastic bottles.
Nutcrackers are thought to have been first made in 1994 in the Dominican areas of Washington Heights, and then became popular in Harlem and across the city. Their sale without a license violates New York law, and the police have on occasion attempted to sanction it. In 2010, black community leaders including Al Sharpton spoke out against the sale of nutcrackers because of the unregulated drinks' potential dangers to health and to children. Some nutcracker vendors have attempted to professionalize and legalize their business in order to assuage such concerns.