1

Long Island iced tea

Image: yeoul Shin

There are two theories about the origin of this cocktail, both rooted in Long Island , though not the sameLong Island!

One story claims it was born during the Prohibition era in a community named Long Island in Kingsport, Tennessee . Another, more recent, credits Robert "Rosebud" Butt with inventing the recipe in a 1972 contest held on Long Island, New York .

A daring choice for some, the iconic Long Island Iced Tea has a recipe with a long list of ingredients . To prepare it, you'll need tequila, light rum, vodka, triple sec, gin, and a splash of cola. Only the bravest dare to try it!

2

Martini

Image: Daniel Lloyd Blunk-Fernández

If you are one of those who loves a drink that's both strong and stylish , then the classic Martini is probably among your favorites. It is the choice of the sophisticated James Bond, who famously prefers his Martini "shaken, not stirred."

Traditionally made with gin and vermouth , and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist, the Martini has several variants, including the vodka Martini, which -as its name suggests- swaps gin for vodka.

While the origin of this classic is not entirely clear, most sources argue it comes from a drink called the Martinez , which had the same basic ingredients and was already being served in the mid-19th century at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco, California.

3

Old Fashioned

Image: Nuff

Let's step back in time with the classic Old Fashioned ! This drink traces its roots back to the early 19th century right here in the United States.

Initially called "the whiskey cocktail," it was prepared much like it is today: mixing sugar with bitters and water, then adding whiskey or brandy. However, as the 19th century progressed, new ingredients like fruit juices, soda, or other liquors became part of many drinks. To stick to the original recipe and avoid these modern twists, people began ordering it as an "Old Fashioned."

The invention of this liquid delicacy is sometimes linked to The Pendennis, a gentlemen's club that opened in 1881 in Louisville, Kentucky . However, mentions of this delicious drink across the country long predate the club.

4

Mint julep

Image: Abby Boggier

Originally from the south of the United States and very popular, especially in Kentucky , there are mentions of this fresh cocktail as early as the 1770s!

It truly stood the test of time, and we understand why. With a base of bourbon , a hint of sugar, water, the classic crushed ice, and the essential fresh mint , it is a mix that's hard to resist.

Served traditionally in silver or pewter cups , this classic American drink is perfect for summer. However, the touch of bourbon can also be good for a cool winter day.

5

Manhattan

Image: OurWhisky Foundation

Remember the original Old Fashioned recipe? Well, let's spice it up. Take the whiskey cocktail and add a splash of sweet vermouth . That's it! Now you have a chic drink: the popular Manhattan .

The Manhattan cocktail has a fascinating origin myth , situated -of course- in NYC . Legend has it that this recipe was created in the 1870s , at the Manhattan Club for a banquet hosted by Winston Churchill's mother! However, historical records show that Lady Randolph Churchill was actually in Paris and pregnant with Winston at the time.

According to more reliable sources, the Manhattan cocktail was actually invented in the 1860s by a bartender named Black , who ran a bar near Houston Street in Manhattan.

6

Sazerac

Image: Bon Vivant

The classic Sazerac cocktail embodies the spirit of The Big Easy , where it was born in the mid-19th century.

The Sazerac we savor today is named after the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of Cognac brandy, from which this cocktail was first created. To make a Sazerac, absinthe, bitters, and sugar were combined with the brandy. Over time, rye whiskey replaced brandy in the modern recipe.

What sets the Sazerac apart, besides its Frenchy name, is its distinctive serving style . The ritual begins by rimming an old-fashioned glass with absinthe. Next, the drink is mixed with ice and strained into the prepared glass. Finally, a classic touch: a twist of lemon.

7

Mai Tai

Image: wu yi

While it might sound like the name of an ancient martial art, the Mai Tai is actually a delightful cocktail born in the United States of America.

More modern and with a tropical touch, the Mai Tai is a vibrant blend of rum , Curaçao liqueur, orgeat syrup, and lime juice. The year was 1944 when this balanced recipe was created by Victor J. Bergeron at his Trader Vic's restaurant in Oakland, California .

Apparently, the Mai Tai's name comes from the Thai expression "maitaʻi," which translates as "good," "excellent," or even "the best." So, if you haven't tried it yet, consider this your signal!

8

Tequila Sunrise

Image: Jamin Eyes

Named for its unmixed colors that mirror the beautiful moment when the sun rises, the Tequila Sunrise carries an intense blend: tequila, orange juice, and grenadine syrup .

The original recipe was a bit different. Between the 1930s and '40s , bartender Gene Sulit stirred up tequila with crème de cassis, lime juice, and soda water at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix. Some three decades later in Sausalito, California , Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice made a change to the original recipe. They traded out the original last three ingredients for orange juice and grenadine, creating the present version.

In case you're wondering, yes, The Eagles' song was inspired by this drink!

9

The Ramos Gin Fizz

Image: The Humble Co.

And New Orleans is here again! With its festive spirit, this city also gave birth to another American cocktail: The Ramos Gin Fizz . This delightful recipe was born in 1888 , courtesy of Henry Charles "Carl" Ramos, owner of the Imperial Cabinet Saloon .

Originally called the " New Orleans Fizz ," it was an instant hit. But if you want to try making it at home, be prepared for a trip to the grocery store, as the recipe is a bit long . The mix for a perfect Ramos Gin Fizz includes gin, lemon juice, lime juice, egg whites, sugar, heavy cream, orange flower water, and soda water.

10

Cosmopolitan

Image: Laure Noverraz

Who hasn't heard of the iconic " Cosmo "? This delightful, sweet drink is a blend of vodka , Cointreau (a type of triple sec), cranberry juice, and a splash of sweetened lime juice. It is served in a chic martini glass and often garnished with a lemon twist.

The origin of this drink is a subject of debate, with various reports suggesting its creation in different places across the country . Some stories trace it back to the 1970s in Provincetown, Massachusetts ; San Francisco, California ; or Minneapolis, Minnesota . Others claim it was born a bit later, in the mid-1980s , in the sunny state of Florida . The current recipe, however, has traces in the bustling city of New York.

Regardless of its birth city, this drink originated in our country and is part of American culture. Let's enjoy it!

1

Blockbuster

During the 1980s and 1990s, Friday night often meant one thing for American families: a trip to Blockbuster. Browsing the aisles for a movie, debating what to watch, and grabbing popcorn at the counter became a weekly routine. But nothing lasts forever.

Born in 1985, Blockbuster conquered the massive home-video market with thousands of stores by the late 1990s and early 2000s, catering to families with at-home VCRs. Then technology changed everything. First came DVD-by-mail services like Netflix, followed by streaming, which left Blockbuster struggling. Late fees and inconvenience only pushed more customers away. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2010. Today, just one official store remains in Bend, Oregon, where visitors still stop by for a dose of the video-store era.

2

Kodak

Back in the day, almost every vacation, birthday, wedding, or holiday gathering seemed to include a Kodak camera, or at least a roll of Kodak film. Founded in 1881, Kodak helped keep the moments that filled family photo albums for generations.

From the 1960s through the 1990s, Kodak dominated the world of film and photography. But that success also made the company slow to accept that technology was changing. Ironically, Kodak helped invent one of the first digital cameras in 1975, yet it hesitated to embrace the future. By the 1990s and 2000s, digital cameras (and later camera phones) quickly replaced traditional film. In 2012, the company declared bankruptcy.

3

Pan Am

Long before flying became an everyday experience, Pan American World Airways, better known as Pan Am, was already carrying Americans across the world. It was founded in 1927, and during the 1960s and 1970s, the airline became a symbol of glamorous air travel.

Its famous blue globe logo was instantly recognizable, even to those who rarely flew. But by the late 1970s, rising competition, fuel costs, and financial troubles began weakening the company. After years of mounting losses and debt, Pan Am shut down in 1991. Even so, its fame was such that even today, more than 30 years later, we still remember it.

4

Woolworth’s

Before Woolworth's made the "five-and-dime" famous, shopping in America looked very different. For decades, Americans visited Woolworth’s for everything from toys and school supplies to household goods and everyday essentials. By the 1960s, the brand had become a familiar part of American life.

Created in 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth, the chain grew into one of the country’s largest retailers. But in the 1970s, malls and discount giants like Walmart changed the way Americans shopped, and Woolworth struggled to keep up. By the 1980s, the iconic chain was slowly disappearing. Most stores closed during the 1990s, and the Woolworth retail chain officially ended in 1997.

5

Circuit City

Testing giant stereo systems, browsing rows of CDs and video games, and shopping for the newest TV were all part of the experience at Circuit City, once one of America’s biggest electronics chains.

Founded in 1949 by Samuel S. Wurtzel in Richmond, Virginia, as "Wards Company," the retailer adopted the Circuit City name in 1984. During the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, it became the go-to place for Americans buying a TV, stereo, computer, or any electronic device. But like many companies on this list, Circuit City struggled as shopping habits changed and online stores became more convenient. A controversial 2007 decision to lay off thousands of experienced employees further hurt the company’s reputation. Circuit City couldn’t survive mounting losses and closed all remaining stores in 2009.

6

Borders

Remember Borders? Born in 1971, its huge stores, filled with books, music, magazines, and cozy reading spaces, invited customers to spend entire afternoons there.

During the 1990s and early 2000s, the rise of large shopping malls actually helped Borders thrive, turning its bookstores into popular destinations inside malls across the US. But eventually, the company ran into a challenge it couldn’t overcome: online shopping and digital reading. Competitors like Amazon surged ahead, while Borders struggled to adapt and made costly business decisions, including outsourcing its online sales to Amazon for years. The company collapsed financially in 2011 and soon closed all remaining stores.

7

Bugle Boy

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, teenage fashion became almost synonymous with Bugle Boy. Famous across the country for its casual jeans and memorable TV commercials, the brand became a major part of American mall culture and was sold in department stores nationwide.

But fashion never stands still, and brands have to constantly adapt to survive. By the late 1990s, newer youth-oriented labels had taken over with fresh styles that quickly made Bugle Boy seem outdated. Sales began to fall, and after years of struggling to keep up with changing trends, the company closed its stores in 2001.

8

Howard Johnson’s restaurants

During the 1960s and 1970s, a stop at Howard Johnson's was part of the classic American road-trip experience for many families, and that was no accident.

Founded in 1925 in Quincy, Massachusetts, the famous orange-roofed chain reached its peak when America’s expanding highways and booming car culture made roadside travel more popular than ever. But by the late 1970s and early 1980s, the growing popularity of fast-food chains like McDonald's began changing the way Americans ate on the road. Drivers increasingly wanted meals that were faster, cheaper, and more standardized, while interstate highways also redirected traffic away from many older roadside locations. Unlike some other brands on this list, Howard Johnson’s faded away slowly over the decades. The last restaurant finally closed in 2022.

9

Burger Chef

In 1958, a name emerged as one of the pioneers of America’s growing fast-food industry: Burger Chef. By the late 1960s, the chain had more than 1,000 locations across the country and had become one of McDonald's’s biggest competitors.

Long before Happy Meals became famous, Burger Chef helped popularize the idea of marketing meals directly to children with toys and themed publicity. But during the fast-food wars of the 1970s, competition became fiercer than ever. While McDonald’s and Burger King expanded by leaps and bounds, Burger Chef struggled with financial problems and changing consumer tastes. In 1982, the company was sold to Hardee's, which gradually converted most Burger Chef locations into Hardee’s restaurants.

10

Sports Authority

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, many Americans looking for running shoes, gym shorts, and sports gear headed straight to Sports Authority.

Known for its huge stores packed with athletic apparel, exercise equipment, bicycles, camping gear, and team sports products, Sports Authority became the ideal shopping destination for families and athletes across the US. But as online shopping rapidly changed retail in the 2000s, the company struggled to adapt. Heavy debt from expansion efforts and a slow shift to e-commerce eventually caught up with the chain. Sports Authority declared bankruptcy in 2016 and closed all remaining stores later that year.

1

Hippies

The hippie movement took shape in the early 1960s, initially in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, as young Americans searched for alternatives to mainstream society. They rejected materialism and conformity while promoting peace, personal freedom, community, and alternative ways of living. Their opposition to the Vietnam War helped make the movement a powerful symbol of the era’s counterculture.

Hippie culture spread through music, festivals, and growing interest in Eastern spirituality and alternative lifestyles. Long hair, flowing clothes, denim, fringe, and colorful patterns became part of the familiar look, while folk music and psychedelic rock provided its soundtrack. Ideas about peace, environmentalism, and individual freedom continued to influence American culture long after the movement faded.

2

Beatniks

The Beat movement developed among writers and artists in New York in the late 1940s before gaining a strong presence in San Francisco during the 1950s. Legendary Beat writers such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg rejected conventional careers, consumerism, and social conformity, instead embracing creativity, spontaneity, travel, and personal freedom.

The movement attracted young people who were drawn to poetry, jazz, coffeehouses, and a bohemian lifestyle. The media soon turned the "beatnik" into a recognizable figure, complete with berets, black clothing, goatees, and bongos. Although the image was often exaggerated to the point of caricature, Beat culture helped inspire the larger counterculture that followed in the 1960s.

3

Greasers

Greasers emerged among working-class youth in the years after World War II and became especially visible in American cities during the 1950s. Strongly associated with Italian American communities in the Northeast and Mexican American communities in the Southwest, they found an identity through rock and roll, cars, motorcycles, and an independent attitude.

The name "greaser" became associated with the group’s heavily greased hair, while leather jackets, jeans, boots, and white T-shirts completed the signature look. The style was later immortalized in Grease (1978), starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

4

Flappers

Flappers emerged in the United States during the 1920s, when young women were challenging traditional expectations in the years following World War I. With women gaining the right to vote in 1920, and jazz, movies, automobiles, and nightlife transforming American life, flappers embraced greater independence and pushed against older ideas about how women should behave.

Their short dresses, bobbed hair, cloche hats, makeup, and energetic dancing became symbols of the Jazz Age. Flappers represented the excitement and freedom of a rapidly changing society. Even though the lifestyle was associated with only some of the decade’s young women, the flapper became an enduring image of 1920s modernity.

5

Rockabilly

Rockabilly developed in the early 1950s, particularly in Memphis, Tennessee, where country and hillbilly music were blending with rhythm and blues. Sun Records became an important part of this musical crossroads, recording artists including Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash. Its energetic sound appealed to young listeners and helped shape the emerging rock & roll revolution.

Rockabilly was less a political movement than a celebration of youthful energy, musical experimentation, and independence. Slicked-back hair, pompadours, leather jackets, jeans, boots, and fitted dresses became associated with the scene. Its sound and style have repeatedly returned to American music and popular culture, keeping the spirit of 1950s rockabilly alive.

6

Yuppies

The term "yuppie," short for "young urban professional," emerged in the early 1980s to describe young, college-educated professionals building careers in major American cities such as New York and Chicago. Instead of rejecting the American dream, yuppies embraced career advancement, financial success, fitness, and a comfortable urban lifestyle. Their rise reflected the economic optimism and growing consumer culture of the decade.

Power suits, designer clothes, expensive cars, upscale restaurants, and fashionable apartments became associated with the yuppie image. The culture was both admired and criticized for its focus on money and status, but its influence was undeniable. Yuppies came to represent the ambitious, success-driven side of 1980s America, and were famously satirized to violent effect by Patrick Bateman, the homicidal protagonist of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel and subsequent film American Psycho.

7

Punks

American punk emerged in New York City in the early-to-mid 1970s, with clubs such as CBGB becoming gathering places for musicians and artists looking for an alternative to mainstream rock. Bands such as the Ramones and artists such as Patti Smith embraced stripped-down music, creative freedom, and a DIY approach, while the British scene that followed, led by bands such as the Sex Pistols, gave punk a louder, more confrontational edge.

Punk attracted young people who wanted to challenge commercialism and conformity. Ripped clothes, leather jackets, boots, safety pins, and unconventional hairstyles became part of its deliberately provocative look. What started as a small New York scene eventually influenced American music, fashion, graphic design, and alternative culture for decades.

8

Disco culture

Disco culture grew out of New York City nightlife in the early 1970s, particularly within Black, Latino, and LGBTQ+ communities. Clubs provided spaces for dancing, self-expression, and social connection, while disco offered an energetic alternative to the rock-dominated music scene. Its message was less about angry rebellion than about joyous freedom, pleasure, inclusion, and self-expression.

By the middle of the decade, disco had moved into the mainstream, with artists such as the Bee Gees, Donna Summer, and Gloria Gaynor becoming major stars. Sequins, platform shoes, flared pants, glitter, and glamorous hairstyles defined the look, while the 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever helped make disco a national phenomenon. Its influence on dance music and nightlife remains strong.

9

Surfer culture

Surfing originated in Hawaii, and surfer culture later developed along Southern California’s beaches during the 1950s and early 1960s. For young Californians, surfing represented freedom, outdoor life, adventure, and an escape from everyday routines. The region’s beaches, cars, drive-ins, and relaxed lifestyle made the culture especially appealing.

The Beach Boys helped take that Southern California image across the country with songs about surfing, cars, romance, and youth. Board shorts, swimsuits, T-shirts, bare feet, and sun-bleached hair became part of the familiar look. Surfer culture ultimately came to represent the carefree California lifestyle, even for people who had never picked up a surfboard.

10

Preppies

Preppy culture grew from the traditions of elite Northeastern prep schools and Ivy League colleges, where a distinctive style had developed during the early 20th century. By the 1950s and 1960s, it was increasingly associated with young Americans who valued education, tradition, good manners, and established institutions . It reflected the lifestyles, speech, and values of upper-class, "old money" families, emphasizing social traditions and a polished way of life.

Oxford shirts, polo shirts, khakis, loafers, sweaters, and navy blazers became the defining look. Leisure activities such as sailing, golf, tennis, and lacrosse were closely associated with the culture, which generally embraced rather than challenged the social world it came from. During the 1980s, brands such as Ralph Lauren helped bring the preppy style into mainstream American fashion.

11

Grunge

Grunge emerged in Seattle and the surrounding Pacific Northwest during the 1980s, growing out of a local music scene influenced by punk, hard rock, and independent music. Bands and fans rejected the polished, glamorous image associated with much of 1980s rock, favoring authenticity, simplicity, and a DIY attitude instead.

Nirvana’s breakthrough in the early 1990s transformed grunge into a national phenomenon. Flannel shirts, ripped jeans, thrift-store clothes, and worn sneakers became unexpectedly fashionable, while the music reflected a more raw and emotionally honest attitude. Grunge became one of the defining cultural expressions of the early 1990s.

12

Bikers

American biker culture grew into a new form after World War II, when returning veterans began forming motorcycle clubs built around friendship, adventure, and freedom. Motorcycles — especially Harley-Davidson bikes — offered a sense of independence after years of military discipline, while clubs provided the camaraderie many veterans had experienced during the war. The 1947 motorcycle gathering in Hollister, California, gained notoriety after sensationalized reports portrayed the event as unruly, helping establish the rough image later associated with bikers.

Leather jackets, denim, boots, patches, and motorcycles became central to the culture’s visual identity. Movies such as The Wild One and Easy Rider further popularized the image of the biker as an independent outsider. Although biker culture has never been limited to outlaw clubs, the open road and freedom from convention remain central to its enduring appeal.