Screwdriver

The drink originated during World War II, when Americans in China and Turkey mixed neutral spirits with orange juice. The origin of the name "screwdriver" is less clear, but the name appeared in Ankara, Turkey, in 1943 and 1944 and later in Istanbul. Variations on the recipe were present in 1948 in Turkey and also called screwdrivers, such as a mixture of one-third vodka and two-thirds gin, and another recipe adding gin, cognac, bitters, and other ingredients to orange juice and vodka. An unattributed but popular story for the name is that the Americans lacked a spoon and instead used a screwdriver as a stirring stick.

Starting mid-1950, vodka rose rapidly in popularity in America, and mixed drinks such as the screwdriver rose with it. Advertising campaigns in the 1950s and 1960s by vodka brands such as Smirnoff cemented the screwdriver as a vodka favorite.