CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Southern nonalcoholic drink from the 1920s is inspiring a cocktail at a restaurant in Charlotte. 

Peanuts and Coke involved pouring a single bag of peanuts into a glass bottle of Coca-Cola. 

Growlers Pourhouse, a neighborhood restaurant also serving craft beer and mixed drinks, has a peanut and cola cocktail. 

The owner of Growlers Pourhouse, Jeff Tonidandel, is a certified cicerone, or a "sommelier" of beer.

Initially, Growlers Pourhouse focused on craft beer when it opened 11 years ago, but it now also offers several cocktails. 

The whiskey and cola drink was added to the menu three years ago. 

“It’s been a classic fan favorite ever since,” Tonidandel said. 

There are theories of how the peanuts and Coke drink came about. 

“Workers did it to get that savory, salty, sweet snack and you can do it. If you have dirty hands it wouldn’t really matter,” Tonidandel said. 

Tonidandel said he thinks peanuts work well in the original version.

“The salt and the peanuts just add so much to the Coke,” Tonidandel said. 

He said their spiked version adds more fun to the original drink. 

“That barrel-aged flavor we add in the background and finishing it off with the whiskey, it makes it a really fun drink.”

He added that it is also a way to honor this region. 

“We kind of have an ode to the South and the 1920s,” Tonidandel said. 

It’s also one of Tonidandel’s favorite drinks. 

“After a long, hot day [it] is a fantastic thing to have,” Tonidandel said.

According to the National Peanut Board, the origin of the nonalcoholic peanuts and Coke drink included that it allowed workers to drive with it, or leave one hand free to continue working.