Let’s be honest, no brunch is complete without a Mimosa or two alongside your Eggs Benedict. The celebratory sip with its life-giving abilities has become synonymous with a weekend well-spent. So to whom do we owe the thanks for our favourite brunch-time treat?
From London to Paris to San Francisco
The history of the classic cocktail is a much-disputed mystery. There is, however, little doubt that the mimosa is a variation of the ever-loved Buck’s Fizz cocktail, invented in 1921 at Buck’s Club in London.
The lone difference between the two drinks is the ratio. A traditional mimosa is served with equal parts sparkling wine and orange juice, whereas a typical Buck’s Fizz has twice as much champagne as juice.
Despite a variation in quantities, both were created with the same goal in mind: to have an excuse to start drinking before lunchtime.
The Mimosa was created at the Ritz Hotel in Paris 4 years after Buck’s Fizz by a bartender called Frank Meier. He never actually took the credit for the cocktail, despite mentioning it in his book, Artistry of Mixing Drinks.
Some suggest that the drink was actually created in San Francisco by none other than Sir Alfred Hitchcock, who is thought to have made it in the 1940s. While this is a less likely story, he certainly helped to popularise the drink in the US, making it the staple brunch drink that it is today.
The true story of the mimosa is probably lost to history but that won’t stop us from celebrating it across the world!
