Rhyming Name Cocktail Game

You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it.

I’m Martha Barnette.

And I’m Grant Barrett, and we’re joined by our quiz guide, John Chaneski from New York City.

Hey, John.

Hey, Grant.

Hey, Martha.

You know, it’s nice and warm here today. I think of going out and just sitting out in the sun and having a drink, and that got me thinking about drinks. And I have a little drink quiz for you, so to speak.

Some drinks have strange or unusual names. Witness the Alabama Slammer, a famous cocktail made from Amaretta, Southern Comfort, slow gin, and orange juice. That’s a pretty unusual name.

Now, I think this rhyming construction is ripe for all sorts of new concoctions named for U.S. States. Okay. Now, I won’t go into the ingredients. I won’t go into the ingredients. I’ll leave that to mixologists.

But in Jackson or Biloxi, you might want to try a cocktail that harkens back to the groovy 1960s and folks who were part of a long-haired subculture. Now, what might that drink be called? It would be the Mississippi Hippie.

The Mississippi Hippie, yes. I think it’s a perfectly good name for a drink. Let’s sample a few more. Why not?

Speaking of the 1960s, we could make a Beatles-inspired cocktail, specifically evoking the excessive enthusiasm or obsession of their fans. Now, this promises to be very popular in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania Mania?

The Pennsylvania Mania, yeah. Order me one. I’ll have one, sure.

Sometimes a cocktail can make you feel safe and secure, like your doting grandma did when you grew up back in Butte or Helena. Montana…

Nana? Oh, yeah, there we go. Montana Nana, yeah. That’s probably a mocktail.

I was going to say, that actually sounds like a gunfighter. It probably is, yeah. Sounds like a gunfighter I want to meet. Montana Nana, don’t cross her. Montana Nana, watch out for him.

Some people get talkative when they drink. Let’s capitalize on that and name a drink for a brief but comprehensive life story that you might find yourself telling your bartender in Akron or Columbus. The Ohio Bio.

The Ohio Bio, yes. Very good. Some cocktail names reflect how they’re made or consumed.

In Albany or Buffalo, we could mix a drink using a special utensil, commonly found in campsites, that combines two eating implements. What would that be? The New York sport.

The New York Spork, yes. Some drinks are made for consuming at brunch, some for late night imbibing. Suppose we create a cocktail specifically for drinking at twilight or dusk. This might go over big in Cheyenne or Laramie. The Wyoming Gloaming?

Ooh, look at you. Look at you. I was trying to do something with Diarano and got nowhere. Diarano.

If we have trouble popularizing our cocktails, we could always try to get corporate sponsorship. I’ll bet we could entice a longstanding gas station company with a star on its logo to brand a cocktail in Santa Fe or Albuquerque. The New Mexico Texaco.

The New Mexico Texaco. As a reminder, do not drink and drive. We’ll make that one the mocktail, if that’s okay.

Similarly, some already extant drinks just need to be paired with a state. Now, there’s a pale lager beer made in Mexico that would be very popular, I think, if we branded it to drinkers in Phoenix or Tucson. The Arizona Corona.

The Arizona Corona, yeah. I’m going to get to step into the hallway and enjoy a nice Florida corridor. Don’t forget, whatever you do, please.

That’s nice. Please, whatever you do, drink responsibly and don’t drive. Thank you.

Thank you, John Chaneski, our Hawaii quiz guy. Thank you, guys. We appreciate you being here. Take care, John.

My pleasure. See you next week. We do a quiz every week. We do a language show every week, and we’d love for you to be a part of it. 877-929-9673.