Summer in New York is truly something to behold, and with the New York Knicks knocking on the door of their first NBA Championship in more than half a century, things are bound to get even more euphoric for the next few months should they actually pull off the unthinkable.
That being said, what would a summer in New York be without its trademark street potion, the Nutcracker.
Known as an “underground” concoction of liquor, juice and culture, the Nutcracker has become famous in its own right out on the streets of New York as people have taken the recipe and added their own tweaks to it in an effort to stand out among the rest while making some bank out in the wild in the process.
While many people may not be too familiar with the drink’s origin, according to Gothamist, the nutcracker came from humble beginnings. It was created in the 1990s by the manager of a Chinese-Peruvian restaurant, Jose Chu (that’s the realest Latino-Chinese name ever). As legend goes, Chu and his co-workers over at the Flor de Mayo on the Upper West Side grew tired of throwing down cheap firewater and decided to create a little something that wasn’t just flavorful, but original and tailored to their wants and needs.
That’s when they decided to take some Bacardi 151 (discontinued but legendary) and mix it with Southern Comfort whiskey, pineapple juice, lime juice and grenadine syrup, ultimately creating a drink that will live forever: the nutcracker. More proof that immigrants make America great.
Though the drink was originally named “Juice Special,” Chu decided to dub it the nutcracker after seeing one of those classic television commercials for a Broadway show featuring The Rockettes, which any OG New Yorker remembers ran constantly on TV.
The founder of the Uptown Collective news outlet, Led Black, actually made a documentary about the popularity of the nutcracker back in 2012, and though it might’ve been overlooked by many at the time, this summer feels just as right as any to delve back into its history.
Per Gothamist:
From Flor De Mayo, nutcrackers immediately hit the streets. Black told me his barber’s friend flirted with one of Flor de Mayo’s bartenders to get the coveted recipe, and then soon started selling them for $10 out of her barbershop.
“It was like the best haircut I ever had in my life because by the time I got my hair done, I was in the clouds,” he said. “And, from there, nutcrackers became ubiquitous.”
Chu said nutcrackers rose to popularity so quickly because they’re very strong but also very tasty. It also didn’t hurt that nutcrackers pair well with everything on Flor de Mayo’s menu, like pork chops, seafood and fried plantains, he said.
The popularity of the nutcracker is so insane that many people have found themselves raking in the dough with their own iteration of the classic street drink.
That hustle still exists among vendors like Jerome Guthrie, who was selling various different drinks in an ice cooler at a cookout at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem. He said nutcrackers, which he started selling in 2013 as a hustle, are his staple drinks. But now his business — Head Bangaz — has turned into one of his main sources of income.
His motto is “if it’s whack, you get your money back, and that’s a fact,” which he says helps him stand out from other nutcracker sellers.
Promising your money back isn’t just a good selling point, but also shows faith and confidence in your own products. Props.
Have you ever tried a nutcracker? Who has the best in New York City? Sound off in the comments section below.
