I really enjoyed the post from @RobertSimonson on the Orange Crush cocktail.
The one thing I was curious about, however, is whether or not the name had anything anything to do with the orange flavored soft drink Crush which I remembered as kid. Looking into that lead me down a rabbit hole that makes me believe the drink did not actually originate in Delaware in the 1990s, but rather some time in the late 70s (or perhaps early 80s) and was inspired by the football team the Denver Broncos.
Before going forward I would say there were likely a few different “Orange Crush” cocktails, so here’s two specific recipes I found that pre-date 1995 (and one from the 2000s relevant to my theory) that seem to match the Delaware version.
The first one is from Hawaii in 1981, but the article mentions the drink was introduced by a manager who had just arrived there from San Diego.
I found another similar recipe from Marina del Ray, California in 1988.
I also found a similar recipe from a 2011 newspaper article from Alabama. This obviously post-dates 1995, but makes no mention of Delaware or Maryland and relevant to this post is part of a larger article on what to prepare for an college football viewing party. Plainsmans’ punch seems to refer to Auburn University whose team colors include orange.
When I tried searching for the history of the cocktail on newspapers.com I was surprised to find that what popped up first were ads or articles for football viewing events.
Here’s a 2014 article on Orange Crush cocktails being made for the Super Bowl in honor of the Denver Broncos playing.
Here’s a 1990 Hartford, Connecticut ad for a Super Bowl viewing party (Broncos were also playing) with Orange Crush cocktails mentioned (as well as San Fran coolers; no idea what those are.)
The earliest connection to Broncos and Orange Crush cocktails that I found was this ad from 1977.
While most ad and articles were connected to the Broncos there were also sources with other football connections included University of Tennessee in 1986 and Dolphins in 1977. Both teams are associated with the color orange (I also suspect Florida was more apt to pick up on a orange flavored drink than most states.)
Though it’s been used for many different teams it seems the concept of a “Orange Crush” cocktail started with the Denver Broncos. To summarize Orange Crush was a name given to their defense in the late 70s inspired by the team color and the soft drink by the same name (which created some really in depth ads back in the day).
The Orange Crush connection turned out to be a boon to the soft drink company though it quickly turned into legal troubles and eventually the Broncos would be restricted in using the term for merchandise.
Anyways I won’t post them all the articles I found, but while sales of Crush boomed for Broncos fans it seems many of them preferred it as a mixer in cocktails vs drinking it straight. There’s a variety of cocktails mentioned with names like the “Bronco-buster” and “Crush-driver”
Probably the height of Orange Crush cocktail/mixed drink making was when the Broncos went to the Super Bowl in 1978 which was held in New Orleans.
It should also be mentioned that it seems Orange Crush cocktails were being made in multiple cities. This is an interesting article about the trend in Chicago that has a few interesting recipe examples.
That said the company making Orange Crush seems to have pushed it hard as a mixer in New Orleans. This article mentions them shipping in cases of the drink for free distribution and also distributing “Broncomania recipe books" to around 250 bars.
These articles in combination with the recipes from the 1980s makes me reasonably sure that the Orange Crush cocktail originated with the Denver Broncos “Orange Crush” defense craze and not Delaware in the 1980s.
One thing to note is that the recipes from the 1980s don’t actually use the soda as a part of the drinks. In addition I doubt any cocktail recipes promoted by the Orange Crush would omit themselves as an ingredient.
My personal theory is that the original Orange Crush cocktail may or may not have had the soda in it, but it was likely made with OJ either due to personal preference or lack of access to the soft drink. It makes sense to me that most bars would have OJ in stock before the soft drink.
How the drink was popularized in Delaware and Maryland I couldn’t tell you, but it seems to be the same drink. I do have a very, very tentative theory that I have no way to confirm that it may be connected to the Baltimore Orioles. As seen in some of the articles I linked to it seems that the Orange Crush has been used for teams other than the Broncos (especially when the team colors are orange.)
In addition to the Baltimore Orioles colors being orange, the common held belief is the drink started being made in Delaware in 1995 which happens to be the first season after the 1994 MLB strike, only few years after Oriole Park was constructed, and the same year that Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record for most consecutive games played. In addition (and perhaps most importantly) they would make the post-season in both 1996 and 1997.
While I can’t confirm it considering the drinks connections to sports and post-season game I don’t think it’s impossible that the drink was brought back for the Baltimore Orioles (would especially make sense for post-season runs) and stuck around afterwards due to it’s beach appropriate vibes.
That said it could be completely unrelated and was just a house drink that blew up. Regardless I think it’s origins still go beyond Harborside Bar and Grill.