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A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across regions of the world, and many websites publish both original recipes and their own interpretations of older and more famous cocktails.


History

The origins of the word ''cocktail'' have been debated (see section Etymology). The first written mention of ''cocktail'' as a beverage appeared in ''The Farmers Cabinet,'' 1803 in the United States. The first definition of a cocktail as an alcoholic beverage appeared three years later in ''The Balance and Columbian Repository'' ( Hudson, New York) May 13, 1806. Traditionally, cocktail ingredients included spirits, sugar, water and bitters, however, this definition evolved throughout the 1800s, to include the addition of a
liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...
. In 1862 Jerry Thomas published a bartenders: guide called ''How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon Vivant's Companion'' which included 10 cocktail recipes using bitters to differentiate from other drinks such as punches and cobblers. In Wilkie Collins' 1879 novel, ''Fallen Leaves'', the following appears in Book the Eighth, Chapter VIII: "Here’s a little order for you: whisky, bitters, lemon, and ice -- I'll take a cocktail in the library. " Cocktails continued to evolve and gain popularity throughout the 1900s, with the term eventually expanding to cover all mixed drinks. In 1917 the term "
cocktail party A cocktail party is a party at which cocktails are served. It is sometimes called a cocktail reception. A cocktail party organized for purposes of social or business networking is called a mixer. A cocktail hour is sometimes used by manag ...
" was coined by Mrs. Julius S. Walsh Jr. of St. Louis, Missouri. With wine and beer being less available during the
Prohibition in the United States In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a Constitution of the United States, nationwide constitutional law prohibition, prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtai ...
(1920–1933), liquor-based cocktails became more popular due to accessibility, followed by a decline in popularity during the late 1960s. The early to mid-2000s saw the rise of cocktail culture through the style of mixology which mixes traditional cocktails and other novel ingredients. In the modern world and the Information Age, cocktail recipes are widely shared online on websites. Cocktails and restaurants that serve them are frequently covered and reviewed in tourism magazines and guides. Some cocktails, such as the Mojito, Manhattan, and Martini have become staples in both restaurants and pop culture phenomena, martinis specifically being associated with James Bond and his phrase " shaken, not stirred".


Usage and related terms

The Oxford Dictionaries define cocktail as "an alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as fruit juice or cream". A cocktail can contain alcohol, a sugar, and a bitter/citrus. When a mixed drink contains only a distilled spirit and a mixer, such as soda or
fruit juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...
, it is a highball. Many of the International Bartenders Association Official Cocktails are highballs. When a mixed drink contains only a distilled spirit and a
liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...
, it is a
duo Duo may refer to: Places *Duo, West Virginia, an unincorporated community and coal town in Greenbrier County, West Virginia *Duo, Tampere, a shopping centre in Hervanta, Tampere, Finland * DUO, a twin-tower development in Singapore Arts, enterta ...
, and when it adds cream or a cream-based liqueur, it is a trio. Additional ingredients may be
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
,
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
, milk, cream, and various
herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
s. Mixed drinks without alcohol that resemble cocktails are known as " mocktails" or "virgin cocktails".


Etymology

The origin of the word ''cocktail'' is disputed. The first recorded use of cocktail not referring to a horse is found in ''The Morning Post and Gazetteer'' in London, England, March 20, 1798: ''The Oxford English Dictionary'' cites the word as originating in the U.S. The first recorded use of ''cocktail'' as a beverage (possibly non-alcoholic) in the United States appears in ''The Farmer's Cabinet'', April 28, 1803: The first definition of cocktail known to be an alcoholic beverage appeared in ''The Balance and Columbian Repository'' ( Hudson, New York) May 13, 1806; editor Harry Croswell answered the question, "What is a cocktail?": Dale DeGroff hypothesizes that the word evolved from the French , for an eggcup in which Antoine A. Peychaud, creator of Peychaud's Bitters, allegedly used to serve his guests a mix of cognac with a dash of his bitters. Etymologist Anatoly Liberman endorses as "highly probable" the theory advanced by Låftman (1946), which Liberman summarizes as follows: Cocktail historian David Wondrich also speculates that ''cocktail'' is a reference to
gingering Gingering, or gingering the tail is the practice of making a horse carry its tail high, and to a lesser extent to encourage it to move in a lively fashion, by applying an irritant, such as raw ginger, to its anus or vulva. Historically the proce ...
, a practice for perking up an old horse by means of a ginger suppository so that the animal would "cock its tail up and be frisky." Several authors have theorized that ''cocktail'' may be a
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
of '' cock ale''.


Development

There is a lack of clarity on the origins of cocktails. Traditionally cocktails were a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. By the 1860s, however, a cocktail frequently included a
liqueur A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...
. The first publication of a bartenders' guide which included cocktail recipes was in 1862 – ''How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon Vivant's Companion'', by "Professor" Jerry Thomas. In addition to recipes for punches, sours, slings, cobblers, shrubs, toddies, flips, and a variety of other mixed drinks were 10 recipes for "cocktails". A key ingredient differentiating cocktails from other drinks in this compendium was the use of bitters. Mixed drinks popular today that conform to this original meaning of "cocktail" include the
Old Fashioned Old-fashioned may refer to: * Old fashioned (cocktail), a whiskey cocktail ** Old Fashioned glass, a type of drinking glass named after the cocktail * ''Old Fashioned'' (film), a 2015 film by Rik Swartzwelder * "Old-fashioned" (short story) a 19 ...
whiskey cocktail, the Sazerac cocktail, and the Manhattan cocktail. The ingredients listed (spirits, sugar, water, and bitters) match the ingredients of an
Old Fashioned Old-fashioned may refer to: * Old fashioned (cocktail), a whiskey cocktail ** Old Fashioned glass, a type of drinking glass named after the cocktail * ''Old Fashioned'' (film), a 2015 film by Rik Swartzwelder * "Old-fashioned" (short story) a 19 ...
, which originated as a term used by late 19th century bar patrons to distinguish cocktails made the "old-fashioned" way from newer, more complex cocktails. In the 1869 recipe book ''Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks'', by William Terrington, cocktails are described as: The term highball appears during the 1890s to distinguish a drink composed only of a distilled spirit and a mixer. Published in 1902 by Farrow and Jackson, "Recipes of American and Other Iced Drinks" contains recipes for nearly two dozen cocktails, some still recognizable today. The first "cocktail party" ever thrown was allegedly by Julius S. Walsh Jr. of St. Louis, Missouri, in May 1917. Walsh invited 50 guests to her home at noon on a Sunday. The party lasted an hour, until lunch was served at 1p.m. The site of this first cocktail party still stands. In 1924, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis bought the Walsh mansion at 4510 Lindell Boulevard, and it has served as the local archbishop's residence ever since. During
Prohibition in the United States In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a Constitution of the United States, nationwide constitutional law prohibition, prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtai ...
(1920–1933), when alcoholic beverages were illegal, cocktails were still consumed illegally in establishments known as speakeasies. The quality of the liquor available during Prohibition was much worse than previously. There was a shift from whiskey to
gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis''). Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...
, which does not require aging and is therefore easier to produce illicitly. Honey, fruit juices, and other flavorings served to mask the foul taste of the inferior liquors. Sweet cocktails were easier to drink quickly, an important consideration when the establishment might be raided at any moment. With wine and beer less readily available, liquor-based cocktails took their place, even becoming the centerpiece of the new
cocktail party A cocktail party is a party at which cocktails are served. It is sometimes called a cocktail reception. A cocktail party organized for purposes of social or business networking is called a mixer. A cocktail hour is sometimes used by manag ...
. Cocktails became less popular in the late 1960s and through the 1970s, until resurging in the 1980s with vodka often substituting for the original gin in drinks such as the martini. Traditional cocktails began to make a comeback in the 2000s, and by the mid-2000s there was a renaissance of cocktail culture in a style typically referred to as mixology that draws on traditional cocktails for inspiration but utilizes novel ingredients and often complex flavors.


See also

* The Museum of the American Cocktail * William "Cocktail" Boothby, early San Francisco publisher of cocktail recipes * Harry Craddock, bartender at the Savoy Hotel's American Bar, author of The Savoy Cocktail Book, and creator of the Corpse Reviver #2 and White Lady. * Tonic water


Lists

*
List of cocktails A cocktail is a mixed drink typically made with a distilled liquor (such as arrack, brandy, cachaça, gin, rum, tequila, vodka, or whiskey) as its base ingredient that is then mixed with other ingredients or garnishments. Sweetened liqueurs, w ...
* List of IBA official cocktails * List of duo and trio cocktails * List of beverages * List of national drinks * Flaming drink


Devices for producing and imbibing

* Cocktail glass *
Cocktail party A cocktail party is a party at which cocktails are served. It is sometimes called a cocktail reception. A cocktail party organized for purposes of social or business networking is called a mixer. A cocktail hour is sometimes used by manag ...
* Cocktail shaker


Media

* '' The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks'' – A classic cocktail book * ''Cocktail'' (1988 film) * ''Cocktail'' (2010 film) * ''Cocktail'' (2012 film)


References


Bibliography

* Burns, Walter. "The ultimate cocktail encyclopedia". San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press, 2014. * Love Food Editors. "The art of mixology: Classic cocktails and curious concoctions". Bath: Parragon Books, 2015. * Polinsky, Simon. "The complete encyclopedia of cocktails: Cocktails old and new, with and without alcohol". Netherlands: Rebo International, 2003. * Regan, Mardee Haidin. "The bartender's best friend: A complete guide to cocktails, martinis, and mixed drinks". Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2003. * Thomas, Jerry. "How to mix drinks, or, The bon vivant's companion". London: Hesperus, 2012.


External links

* * Wikibooks Cookbook {{Authority control