What inspired 'slippery nipple' and other cocktail names?

Even the word "cocktail" — a chilled mixed drink of alcoholic beverages and water or juices — has several origin theories. The Oxford English Dictionary, for instance, states that "cocktail" derives from an adjective used to describe race horses with tails that stuck up like a rooster's, rather than hung down. That meant that a "cock-tailed" racehorse was "mixed" rather than a thoroughbred.

Perhaps more intriguing than their pedigree are the names given to cocktails. A slippery nipple — reportedly named so for "its smooth creamy texture" — is a layered shot that combines sweet grenadine made from pomegranate juice, sambuca and Baileys Irish Cream liqueur. When prepared well, these ingredients remain as separated layers with the red grenadine "nipple" at the bottom of the glass.

Another curiously named cocktail that refers to a body part is the fuzzy navel, especially popular in the 1980s. Its name derives from its two main ingredients: navel orange juice and peach schnapps. The navel orange is named such because when its whole and unpeeled, its blossom end looks like a human navel. The "fuzzy" bit refers to the fuzzy skin of peaches.

How did the bloody mary get its reputation as a hangover cure and brunch staple after a night of boozing? Perhaps it has something to do with its combination of tomato juice and salt, said to settle the stomach and replace electrolytes. Vitamins C and B6, in the tomato juice, also help reduce the effects of a hangover. The vodka, meanwhile, is said to help relieve head and body aches.

Theories abound about the name bloody mary. One oft-repeated tale is that it was inspired by Scottish Queen Mary Tudor and her bloody reign against Protestants in England in the 1500s. Theorists claim the tomato juice represents the blood shed during this time, and the fiery vodka illustrates Queen Mary's wicked means of executing her enemies.

Besides body parts and (in)famous personalities, cocktails also owe their names to places. Comprising a mix of white rum, citrus juice (typically lime juice) and sugar or other sweeteners, the daiquiri is believed to be named after a beach located in Santiago de Cuba. The daiquiri joins its alcoholic cousins, the mojito and martini, as the favored tipples of 20th-century author Ernest Hemingway.

Pictured here with a blue lagoon, sex on the beach was invented in the 1980s by Ted Pizio, a Florida bartender. He had accepted a challenge to sell the most peach schnapps and created this unique cocktail, which has become a beach resort staple. Pizio named it after the two reasons he thought attracted tourists to visit the southern US state for spring break — "sex" and the "beach."

As with most mixology mythology, there are several origin theories as to how the Harvey Wallbanger, a drink which combines vodka, citrus juice and Galliano liqueur, got its name. One version is that it was created by bartender Donato "Duke" Antone at his Blackwatch bar in Los Angeles for a certain Tom Harvey, a surfer who got too drunk from the liquor and started running — or banging — into walls.

In an industry once ruled by men, British bartender Ada Coleman worked at one of the world's most famous cocktail spots, the American Bar at London's Savoy Hotel. Legend has it she created a cocktail for Sir Charles Hawtrey, an early 20th-century actor who'd asked for a drink with a punch. Coleman's concoction made him exclaim, "By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky!" Thus, a cocktail was born.

Dubbed Puerto Rico's national drink, pina colada — Spanish for "strained pineapple" — is a sweet mix of coconut cream, pineapple juice, white rum and ice. While its origin stories include competing claims amongst San Juan bartenders in the 1950s to a pirate in the 1800s, no one knows who to credit for this drink that was immortalized in Rupert Holmes' 1979 hit, "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)."

Fun fact: Actress Sarah Jessica Parker (above left), who played Carrie Bradshaw in the hit HBO show "Sex and the City," didn't even like cosmopolitans — the favorite tipple of her TV alter ego. With screen gal pals Samantha (Kim Cattrall, above right), Charlotte and Miranda, they often sipped on the hot-pink cocktails when attending society functions in well, cosmopolitan, New York City.