‘Nuclear Waste’: the summer cocktail Keith Richards claims to have invented
It’s finally happening; the clouds are beginning to part, and the grey skies are starting to gently roll out of our eyeline. As the summer months creep ever closer and sleeve length becomes shorter and shorter, we are left in need of two things: good music and good drinks. Luckily, in the form of Keith Richards, the two have always arrived hand-in-hand, quite literally.
The three pillars of anarchic music have always been sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Most bands end up embodying a couple of these criteria or embodying all three to a minor extent, but the greatest representation of all three to the fullest possible potential has to be The Rolling Stones. The band is completely unrelenting in the simultaneously glamorous and depressing life that comes with being a musician. A lot of that life is spent being high, drunk or both.
It’s very unlikely that you will see an interview with guitarist Keith Richards where he doesn’t have a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other. They have become an extended part of him, for better or worse. Richards doesn’t seem to have much of a desire to give up alcohol any time soon, either, as when Alice Cooper recently revealed to him that he had been sober for 20 years, Richards responded, “It begs the question… why?”
The band have attributed a fair amount of their creative efforts towards being overly intoxicated. For instance, in the song ‘Coming Down Again’, Richards admitted that he wouldn’t have been able to write the piece without his heroin addiction. It didn’t just act as inspiration for the track, but Richards has previously claimed that it kept him grounded.
“I wonder about the songs I’ve written: I like the ones I did when I was on [heroin]. I wouldn’t have written ‘Coming Down Again’ without that,” he said, “I’m this millionaire rock star, but I’m in the gutter with these other snivelling people. It kept me in touch with the street at the lowest level.”
Richards has kicked the likes of heroin and cocaine and now just has the occasional drink without over-indulging. Subsequently, his creativity is less directed towards the songs he makes anymore, and instead, Richards puts his creative juices into the drinks he is making. One of which is his signature, interestingly known as ‘Nuclear Waste’.
If you are keen on getting a taste of what it’s like to be The Rolling Stones guitarist, look no further than this cocktail, which can be yours if you follow a few simple instructions and get the right ingredients in.
Firstly, you will need two ounces of Rubinoff vodka (chances are any brand will do if you have a particular type in mind), one ounce of Sunkist (any orange-flavoured soda will do), and a lot of ice. Once you have your ingredients, get a large glass and add a handful of ice. Afterwards, mix two parts of vodka and one part of orange soda.
If you think this sounds like a strong vodka orange, you might be correct, but being simple and effective hasn’t steered The Rolling Stones wrong yet. The chosen poison of one of the biggest rockstars in the world is only a quick trip from the shops away. Are you trying it?