A cutty bang is a

plastic bag A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, Powder (substance), powders, ...

containing small bottles of alcohol and mixers intended to be combined as a

mixed drink A mixed drink is a Drink, beverage in which two or more ingredients are Drink mixer, mixed. Types * List of non-alcoholic mixed drinks—A non-alcoholic mixed drink (also known as virgin cocktail, temperance drink, or mocktail) is a cocktail-sty ...

. They are sold in select

liquor store A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged alcoholic beverages, including liquors (typically in bottles), wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom ...

s in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. Cutty bangs reportedly originated as early as the 1970s. "Cutty" is Northern California slang for "shady", i.e., "probably not legal/safe/advisable". In the 2010s–2020s, they continue to be sold in select liquor stores in San Francisco neighborhoods such as the

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

, Tenderloin, and Bayview–Hunters Point and the cities of

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

and

Daly City Daly City () is the second-most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, and immediately south of San Francisco (sharing its northern border with almost all of San Francisco's southern ...

. Costing from , they are generally combined and consumed in a styrofoam cup with ice just after leaving the store. The original "Cutty Bang" consists of bottles of

Tanqueray Tanqueray is a brand of gin produced by Diageo plc. It originated in London. While it does not command a sizable market share in its native market, its largest market is the US. Tanqueray is a London dry gin, reflecting its distillation p ...

and

Seagram's The Seagram Company Ltd. (which traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian ...

gin, Bacardi Limon rum, and

pineapple juice Pineapple juice is a juice made from pressing the natural liquid out from the pulp of the pineapple (a fruit from a tropical plant). Numerous pineapple varieties may be used to manufacture commercial pineapple juice, the most common of which ...

. However, there are many other variations of the concept of bottles in a bag, which are often given creative labels in permanent marker; at multiple locations, a "High Speed" contains several small bottles of

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

and a Red Bull Yellow Edition. Liquor stores can be protective of their original recipes and names. Other names for the concept include "hood drinks", "mix drinks", "mix kits", and "mixers".

In popular culture

*"Cutty Bang", a 1998 hip hop song by TayDaTay featuring Big Mack; one of the earliest known references to the drink *"Cutty Bang", a 2000 hip hop song by Kalifornia Noize Terrorists

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutty bang Cuisine of the San Francisco Bay Area American alcoholic drinks