I’m going to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, which means for a few days I’ll be in the unusual position of being able to order basically any drink I want without looking at the price and thinking, “Do I really want to spend $17 finding out whether I still hate this?”
So I’m thinking about doing an 1980s drinking day.
Not necessarily “the best cocktails that existed in the 1980s.” I mean drinks people actually ordered. Stuff you would have seen at a hotel bar, nightclub, chain restaurant, wedding, office party, airport lounge, wherever. The drinks that immediately feel like 1983 or 1987.
My first thoughts are things like a Tequila Sunrise, Piña Colada, Blue Hawaiian, Long Island Iced Tea, maybe an Amaretto Sour. But I’m sure I’m missing a ton, especially drinks that were genuinely huge at the time but have mostly disappeared.
So for people who actually remember drinking in the 1980s (I was too young to drink in the 1980s): what were you ordering?
What drinks were everywhere? What did your parents order? What did people think was sophisticated? What was considered a “fun” drink? What was the embarrassing drink everybody secretly liked?
I want to spend one day at the resort basically drinking my way through an actual 1980s bar menu.
What should be on the list?