Every year, 13th May is World Cocktail Day. The cocktail is often associated with the glamour of the 1920s, but it’s a much older beverage. The word was first mentioned as a non-horse-related term in 1798. Obviously, I can’t ignore something that came about during my favourite period in history. I hope you forgive me for stealing my title from the 80s film starring Tom Cruise.
What is a Cocktail?
A cocktail is technically a mix of drinks, and alcohol is optional. Non-alcholic cocktails are often referred to as mock-tails. Don’t confuse a cocktail with a high-ball, which is a spirit (like gin) and a mixer (like tonic)—nothing more, nothing less. You can read more about the history of gin in my post, Gin and the Georgians.
A traditional cocktail is a combination of one or more types of alcohol and one or more non-alcoholic drinks, such as tonic or fruit juice. There is a cocktail to suit everyone’s palette, and depending on the ingredients used, they can be creamy, sweet, salty, bitter or spicy.
First Usage
There is much debate regarding the first use of the word cocktail about a beverage. (The British used to use the term “cock-tailed horse” to refer to a horse that had had its tail cut short to show it was a mixed breed.)
The Cocktail Society UK says the term “cocktail” was first used in March 1798, in the London newspaper, The Morning Post and Gazetteer. However, the Oxford English Dictionary cites the word as originating in the United States in The Farmer’s Cabinet in April 1803.
Public Domain.
What’s certain is that on 13th May, 1806, The Balance and Columbian Repository of Hudson, New York, refined the definition of a cocktail to: “A stimulating liquor composed of any kind of sugar, water, and bitters.”
A Brief History of the Cocktail
I promise, I will keep this one brief.
Good old British punch—a combination of spirits, fruit juices, and spices all mixed in a big bowl—inspired the cocktail. We hear about punch a lot in Georgian romances, but high society dictated that unmarried ladies could not consume alcohol. (I doubt that stopped them.)
Seventeenth-century British sailors concocted punch using local ingredients and spices from wherever they were. Beer would spoil on a long voyage, so adding sugar, citrus fruits, and spices to spirits meant their beverage would last longer. Ahoy there! We have the rum punch.
Since then, the drink has taken off as a flavourful and sophisticated beverage. Over the centuries, mixologists have experimented with various combinations to create an endless variety of cocktails.
Top Cocktails
According to KØcktail, the top cocktail in the UK is still the classic martini (made with gin or vodka and a splash of vermouth, and the favourite tipple of James Bond). Next is the mojito—a Cuban cocktail made with white rum, lime juice, sugar, soda water and fresh mint leaves (yum).
My favourite is a grasshopper, mainly because it features crème de menthe. The fresh, minty, sweet drink has been around since the 1920s.
Do you enjoy a cocktail and what’s your favourite? Have one to celebrate World Cocktail Day. Cheers!
