Arnold Palmer (drink)

An Arnold Palmer

An Arnold Palmer is a beverage of iced tea and lemonade, named after American golfer Arnold Palmer.^[1][2][3] An alcoholic version of the "Arnold Palmer" (generally made with vodka) is called a John Daly.^[4]

History

According to Arnold Palmer, he was in the habit of drinking iced tea with lemonade at home, and in 1960 at the U.S. Open at the Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, he ordered the non-alcoholic drink at the bar. A woman sitting nearby overheard him, and ordered "that Palmer drink", thus giving the beverage its name.^[5] In 2012 an ESPN 30 for 30 Shorts documentary was produced on the drink, featuring Palmer, beverage experts, a group of PGA golfers and comedian Will Arnett discussing the drink's history and popularity.^[6] In the film, Palmer attributes the spreading of the drink's name to a similar incident in which a woman copied his ordering the drink at lunch while working on a golf course in Palm Springs, California. Palmer preferred three parts unsweetened tea, to one part lemonade, but when mixed equal parts tea and lemonade, the drink is sometimes called a Half & Half.^[7][8]

When Palmer visited the Latrobe Country Club in his hometown, the staff at the snack shack served the beverage to him or his wife, Kit, without prompting. "Mr. Palmer should never have to order the drink named after him."^[9]

Mass-produced versions

The drink was sold under the Arnold Palmer name by Innovative Flavors since 2001, with Palmer's picture and signature on the bottle. Since the mid-2000s, Arizona Beverage Company has handled distribution of the beverage.^[10] Lemonade combined with iced tea is also sold without the Arnold Palmer name by other companies, such as Lipton Brisk, Honest Tea (as Half and Half), Nantucket Nectars (as Half and Half), Country Time,^[11] Sweet Leaf,^[12] XINGtea,^[13] Snapple,^[14] and Peace Iced Tea (as Caddyshack).

See also

• List of lemonade topics
• List of lemon dishes and beverages

References