The minty Grasshopper started in the South and grew to become a classic.
The Grasshopper is a classic cocktail with a funny name and chocolate-mint flavor that became very popular in the 1950’s as an after dinner drink. However, it was actually created a few decades prior to this. The drink was reportedly the invention of Philbert Guichet, the owner of the landmark bar and restaurant Tujagues in the French Quarter of New Orleans. He submitted the drink to a recipe contest in New York City, supposedly in 1928 before Prohibition had ended. The drink was awarded second place in the contest and it did not immediately become popular. By the 1950’s liquor had become easily accessible and often sold in grocery stores. Because women were handling the shopping and entertaining at home, sweet, dessert like drinks became popular. Women in the American South started serving the Grasshopper at cocktail parties and the popularity spread. By the 1960’s it was staple in the classic cocktail repertoire.
The original recipe for a Grasshopper calls for equal parts green Crème de menthe, white Crème de cacao, and light cream or half-and-half, shaken over ice and strained into a chilled cocktail glass.