National Mimosa Day

The story

The Mimosa cocktail is named after a pretty yellow flower. It's been around for about a hundred years since the early 1920s. It's kind of like the Buck’s Fizz, which was probably made first at the Buck’s Club in London in 1921. Both cocktails mix orange juice and champagne, but the Buck’s Fizz has more champagne.

Another story says the Mimosa might have started with Frank Meier, a bartender at the Ritz hotel in Paris in 1926. He made a drink like today's Mimosa, with equal parts orange juice and champagne. Ten years later, he wrote down his Mimosa recipe in a book called “The Artistry of Mixing Drinks.” It was probably the first time the recipe was in a book.

By the 1960s, the Mimosa was really popular, especially because the Royal Family in the UK liked it. Alfred Hitchcock, a famous movie maker, also helped make it famous in the United States. Celebrities like British actress Vanessa Redgrave and French actress Denise Darcel liked it too.

Before the 1960s, people already liked having brunch on Sundays. But when famous people started liking the Mimosa, it became even more popular. When Ronald Reagan became president, the Mimosa became the favorite drink for daytime parties.

The Mimosa isn't just for brunch. People use it to celebrate weddings, baptisms, and garden parties. Even airlines sometimes serve it in business or first class.