Where does the expression "on the rocks" originate from?!
Where does the expression "on the rocks" originate from?
Answers:
ICE= ROCKS
"rocks" are ice, in bar-speak
I am not sure where it actually came from but it refers to how a drink is served. On ice is known as the rocks, chilled and strained in a martini glass is known as straight up, a single liquor served by itself in a glass is known as neat...no ice, no mixer, usually scotch.
* Ice (slang), commonly referred to as "rocks" when used with alcoholic beverages
The manufacture and use of ice cubes or crushed ice is common for drinks.
Ice cubes are a small, roughly cube-shaped piece of ice, conventionally used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are often preferred over crushed ice because they melt more slowly; they are standard in mixed drinks that call for ice, in which case the drink is said to be "on the rocks." Ice cubes are produced domestically by filling an ice cube tray with water and placing it in a freezer. Many freezers also come equipped with an icemaker, which produces ice cubes automatically and stores them in a bin from which they can be dispensed directly into a glass. Ice cubes made by automatic icemakers are generally longer and thinner, requiring less force to remove them from the tray and thereby reducing the likelihood of the cube becoming stuck in the dispenser.
In India and other parts of the world, it has traditionally been viewed as unhealthy to drink something with ice in it; today, many older Indians still refuse to use it.
The term originated in the US as it was our country that first served alcoholic drinks over ice. The "on the rocks" is a bar tender slang as Ice is also known as rocks; Neat is another slang expression for serving alcohol by itself and straight up is when it is poured after mixing into a glass without ice.