

Drink because you
are happy, but never because you are miserable.
Heretics
- g.k. chesterton

If you want a light refreshing cocktail for a perfect day on the beach, or to celebrate the weekend at your favorite brunch spot, a Mimosa is the cocktail for you.
Ingredients
1 part sparkling wine
1 part orange juice
optional garnish: orange peel
Method
Combine sparkling wine and OJ in glass. *Start with the oj, then top with bubbles. Pour slowly to avoid over fizzing the glass.
GLASS: FLUTE
Variations
The Mimosa looks more like its predecessor, the Buck’s Fizz, these days as a result of rising trends in boozy cocktails. The only difference in the two recipes is the ratio of sparkling wine to orange juice. A Mimosa calls for equal parts of each, while the Buck’s Fizz has twice as much sparkling wine than orange juice. The great thing about this cocktail is you can make it however strong you’d like, and it’s still delicious!
History
It’s no wonder that the older and boozier version of the cocktail was invented in London. It was 1921 at Buck’s Club, and I’m sure the first sunny day they had experienced in quite a while. It makes sense that the country that invented brunch also invented the original version of the most popular brunch cocktail.
However, credit for the invention of the Mimosa goes to The Ritz Hotel in Paris, 1925. Bartender Frank Meier ran out of Champagne and said (in French), “Screw it. Fill it up with orange juice. That guy doesn’t tip anyway. Call it a Mimosa,” or something like that, I’m sure. There was probably a Mimosa flower sitting in a beautiful vase at the end of the bar.

National Mimosa Day
So because of a Champagne shortage, an orange flower, and a bad tipper we now have a cocktail so delightful that it has its own holiday. May 16th is officially National Mimosa Day! Also, if you are like me, every Saturday and Sunday are National Mimosa Day. The whole point of this cocktail is to make it how you like it. If you’re in France and order a Mimosa, they will make it with Champagne and orange juice in equal parts, because it’s France and they’re french. But don’t feel judged if you prefer a bottle of your favorite sparkling wine mixed with a few drops of cheap o.j. It’s acceptable to call both cocktails a Mimosa. Why, you ask? Because no one remembers the Buck’s Fizz.
Memory, experience, and marketing are the driving factors behind the life of a cocktail. The Mimosa has set in stone the best memories you don’t really quite remember from your most cherished brunch moments. The Buck’s Fizz has fizzled into oblivion, because no one knows what the hell it is. It’s not on any menus that I know of, and so it has died out…like Jazzercise. It’s funny how trends work. Someone invents something that becomes popular. Another person in a trendier market makes a slight change to it and calls it something different. Then gradually the new thing changes back into its original self because it was superior in the first place, but now the new name has stuck. It’s like theft by evolution.
All that is to say, Mimosas are awesome…but only because some chap in dreary London town first invented the Buck’s Fizz. Respect your elders, and drink up!