Gordon Ramsay’s Top Cocktail Features a Funny Name

British chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay is just as well-known for his signature insults as he is for his straightforward yet elegant cooking style. It’s no surprise that the name of his preferred cocktail resembles something he might exclaim amidst the chaos of “Hell’s Kitchen.” In a 2016 episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Ramsay disclosed that his favorite tequila cocktail is whimsically named “Wake Up, You Donkey.”

Ramsay frequently uses this animal as an unsavory term when addressing chefs on his television shows. In a 2018 “Hell’s Kitchen” episode, he remarked that two chefs were “cooking like donkeys” and pondered if the restaurant should be renamed “Donkey’s Kitchen” (via YouTube). Other times, he simply yells “You donkey!”, often urging frazzled chefs to “Wake up!”.

The vibrant green “Wake Up, You Donkey” cocktail included “the most amazing tequila,” according to Ramsay (via YouTube), along with cider, fresh honey, and smoked elderflower — definitely an unusual craft cocktail ingredient. The drink was garnished with a zesty lime slice. In his characteristic expletive-filled manner, he took a sip and exclaimed: “F*** me, that’s delicious.”

In 2016, Gordon Ramsay’s favored cocktail was available at the Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill in Atlantic City. In a reply during a 2015 Reddit “Ask Me Anything” thread, he described the drink as “sort of spicy, and fragrant,” although he noted that it was made with Tanqueray gin at that time. Perhaps this was an earlier variation before it shifted to tequila.

Regrettably, the comically named cocktail has since been removed from the Gordon Ramsay Pub menu, although a 2019 cocktail menu for the same venue featured a similar concoction. Named “Giddy Up You Donkey,” it combined El Jimador — an affordable tequila worth purchasing — with smoked elderflower honey, lime, and Strongbow cider. However, as of 2024, the pub’s menu no longer includes any donkey-themed drinks.

These two beverages are not the only donkey-inspired cocktails Ramsay has concocted. His restaurant Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen at Caesars Palace — one of Ramsay’s many establishments worldwide — previously offered a flamboyant tiki-style drink known as the Rum Donkey. However, after two diners were injured by the drink in 2018, it was also struck from the menu.

In recent times, the whimsical names and theatrics have been substituted with more mature choices on Gordon Ramsay’s menus. The Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill in Atlantic City now offers drinks like a Royal Margarita, incorporating cranberries alongside traditional margarita ingredients, and a signature gin and tonic featuring aloe vera liqueur and yuzu, a fragrant Japanese citrus.

Despite the absence of a donkey at the Gordon Ramsay Pub today, a mule does exist — specifically, an apple mule crafted with Cîroc Apple Vodka, lime juice, cinnamon syrup, cardamom bitters, and ginger ale. With this blend of spiced elements, we presume it packs a punch. Plus, if you order a Notes From Gordon cocktail at one of the chef’s Hell’s Kitchen restaurants, you’ll receive a note with a humorous message from Ramsay himself. Who knows, it might even include a famous donkey insult just for you.