National Mimosa Day
National Mimosa Day on May 16 honors the ultimate American brunch cocktail — champagne and orange juice, invented at the Ritz Hotel in 1925, a Jazz-Age creation that became the signature of weekend elegance. Simple, effervescent, bright; the mimosa is brunch in a glass. Saturday brunch may be an American invention, but the mimosa is its Paris-born cocktail heart.
Why it matters
BRUNCH IN A GLASS
It’s National Mimosa Day. On May 16, raise a flute of champagne and orange juice — the Ritz Paris classic that became America’s signature brunch cocktail.
THE STORY
The mimosa was invented by Frank Meier, the head bartender at the Ritz Paris Hotel, in 1925. Meier was a British bartender of Austrian birth who had worked at the Ritz since 1921. His Ritz bartending manual, ‘The Artistry of Mixing Drinks’ (1936), codifies hundreds of classic cocktails he developed or refined. The mimosa was named for the mimosa flower (Acacia dealbata) — native to Australia but popular in Riviera gardens — whose yellow frothy clusters resembled the drink’s appearance.
The mimosa’s cocktail precedent was the Buck’s Fizz, created in 1921 at Buck’s Club in London (2 parts champagne to 1 part OJ). The mimosa differs in using a 1:1 ratio. Both cocktails emerged from the post-WWI London-Paris hotel bartending culture that also produced the Bloody Mary (1921, Harry’s New York Bar, Paris), the Sidecar (1920s, Harry’s or Ritz), and the French 75 (1915, Harry’s). This was the golden age of cocktail invention.
The mimosa reached America through Prohibition-era and post-Prohibition bartending culture. By the 1950s, mimosas were standard on elegant American hotel brunch menus — The Plaza, The Waldorf Astoria, The St. Regis. The mimosa was a quieter cocktail than the Bloody Mary (also a brunch classic) — less assertive, more feminine in marketing of the era. American brunch restaurant culture grew alongside the mimosa through the 1970s-80s.
The ‘bottomless brunch’ phenomenon — unlimited mimosas included with brunch entrée — began in the 1980s at various East Coast restaurants and exploded in the 2010s. Most American cities now have dozens of bottomless-brunch restaurants. The format is culturally significant: a Saturday brunch ritual that can turn into a mid-afternoon event. Variations of the mimosa — peach, strawberry, pomegranate, grapefruit — are standard menu offerings. National Mimosa Day on May 16 honors the Parisian-born cocktail that became America’s weekend cocktail.
The mimosa is the rare cocktail that makes the day ahead feel possible rather than threatening.
FOUR CLASSIC MIMOSA VARIATIONS
Beyond the orange:
Classic Mimosa
Equal parts champagne and fresh orange juice. The Ritz original. No garnish needed; no substitutes acceptable.
Bellini
Harry’s Bar, Venice (1948). White peach puree + Prosecco. Lighter and fruitier than a mimosa. Summer-ready.
Mango Mimosa
Mango puree + champagne. Tropical variation. Popular in Miami and Los Angeles brunch culture.
Strawberry Mimosa
Fresh strawberry puree + champagne. Pretty pink color. Often served at bridal showers and weddings.
MIMOSA CULTURE WORLDWIDE
Global variations on the champagne-and-fruit theme:
DID YOU KNOW?!
Frank Meier’s Ritz bar was a WWII resistance site.
Frank Meier kept serving drinks at the Ritz during WWII Nazi occupation. He hid at least one Jewish family in his Ritz quarters and reportedly passed intelligence to the French Resistance. A cocktail inventor was also a war hero.
Champagne is not required for a mimosa.
‘Champagne’ technically refers only to sparkling wine from Champagne, France. Prosecco, Cava, California sparkling, and cremant all work for mimosas. Real champagne is better; Prosecco is more affordable; both are correct.
Bottomless brunch became a legal question.
In 2015, New York State tried to ban ‘bottomless brunch’ over alcohol-service-limit concerns. Legal challenges kept it legal. Today almost every US state allows unlimited mimosa service with a brunch entrée.
The mimosa is 68% cheaper than a straight champagne.
Orange juice is inexpensive; champagne is not. Mixing 1:1 effectively halves the champagne cost per serving — which is why mimosas are brunch-economic while straight champagne is a higher-priced bar option.
READ & POUR
The Savoy Cocktail Book
Harry Craddock · 1930
Harry Craddock of London’s Savoy Hotel compiled this masterwork of 1930s cocktail culture. The mimosa, bellini, and classic champagne cocktails are here.
Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol
Iain Gately · 2008
Gately’s engaging history of alcohol — including extensive cocktail-era chapters. Great context for the Prohibition-era mimosa invention.
A Girl’s Guide to Brunch
Sarah Harris · 2018
A modern brunch-planning guide — menu suggestions, champagne recommendations, hosting tips. Fun and practical.
PAIR IT WITH
Eggs Benedict, French toast, smoked salmon bagels, quiche. Classic brunch foods.
Jazz brunch music — Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra. Sunday morning essentials.
The Sunday paper. Any good novel. Brunch-mimosa-book is an American Sunday ritual.
To weekends. To brunch. To champagne-and-OJ as a civilization-achievement. Cheers.
Cheers to Brunch
Tag us @celebrationnation with #MimosaDay. Share your brunch spread, your mimosa photo, or your favorite brunch spot. Weekends are the best.
How to celebrate
Pour, sip, brunch:
- 🥂 Make the classic mimosa. Equal parts champagne and fresh-squeezed orange juice in a champagne flute. No garnish needed. Simple perfection.
- 🍑 Try a peach bellini. Mimosa's Italian cousin. Peach puree + Prosecco. More fruit-forward; equally refreshing.
- 🍊 Use fresh-squeezed OJ. The difference between frozen concentrate and fresh-squeezed OJ is staggering. Fresh OJ makes all the difference.
- 🥤 Go 'bottomless' at brunch. Unlimited mimosas with an American brunch entrée. Overindulgent; universally popular.
- 🍓 Strawberry mimosa variation. Fresh strawberry puree + champagne. Pretty and pink. Good for bridal showers.
Celebration ideas by audience
For families
Non-alcoholic mimosas for kids: sparkling water or ginger ale + orange juice. Same festive look, no alcohol.
For kids
Kids get a 'kiddie mimosa' — sparkling juice + orange juice. Brunch is for everyone.
For couples
A mimosa brunch at home: champagne, fresh OJ, eggs Benedict or French toast. The platonic Sunday morning.
At the office
Saturday office brunch with mimosas. Team-building tradition. Keep the champagne moderate for professional reasons.
At school
Not appropriate for school celebrations. A non-alcoholic mimosa-style beverage could work for adult faculty events.
In your community
Mother's Day brunch (May 10, 2026) is the premier mimosa occasion. Make them at home or go out.
On your own
A single mimosa with toast and a book on Sunday morning is quiet bliss. No one judging. Perfect ritual.
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National Mint Julep Day
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