About Cocktails

What is a Cocktail?
The official definition of a Cocktail according to the modern Merriam-Webster Dictionary is "an iced drink of wine or distilled liquor mixed with flavoring ingredients." That's a pretty broad definition, but reflects the modern practice of referring to almost any mixed drink as a Cocktail. The first published definition of the Cocktail appeared in an editorial response in The Balance and Columbian Repository of 1806. This read: "Cocktail is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters." It is this definition of ingredients that still refers to the "ideal cocktail."

When was the cocktail created?
People have been mixing drinks for centuries but it wasn't until the 17th and 18th centuries that the precursors of the Cocktail (the Slings, Fizzes, Toddies and Juleps) became popular enough to be recorded in history. It's unclear where, who, and what went into the creation of the original Cocktail, but it seems to be a specific drink rather than a category of mixed drinks during that time.

The first published reference to the Cocktail appears in the Farmer's Cabinet (Amherst, New Hampshire, April 28, 1803). The spoof editorial tells of a "lounger" who, with an 11 a.m. hangover, "…Drank a glass of cocktail – excellent for the head…" In Imbibe!, David Wondrich attributes the first known Cocktail recipe in print to Captain J.E. Alexander in 1831 who calls for brandy, gin or rum in a mix of "…a third of the spirit to two-thirds of the water; add bitters, and enrich with sugar and nutmeg…"

Where did the name Cocktail come from?
There are as many stories behind the origin of the name Cocktail as there are behind the creation of the Margarita or the Martini. As always, some are preposterous, some believable and who knows, one may be the truth. None the less, the stories are interesting.

  • A popular story behind the Cocktail name refers to a rooster's tail (or cock tail) being used as a Colonial drink garnish. There are no formal references in recipe to such a garnish.
  • In the story in The Spy (James Fenimore Cooper, 1821) the character "Betty Flanagan" invented the Cocktail during the Revolution. "Betty" may have referred to a real-life innkeeper at Four Corners north of New York City by the name of Catherine "Kitty" Hustler. Betty took on another non-fiction face, that of Betsy Flanagan. Betsy likely not a real woman though, but the story says she was a tavern keeper who served French soldiers in 1779 a drink garnished with tail feathers of her neighbor’s rooster. We can assume that Kitty inspired Betty and Betty inspired Betsy, but whether or not one of the three are responsible for the Cocktail is a mystery.
  • The rooster theory is also said to have been influenced by the colors of the mixed ingredients, which may resemble the colors of the cock's tail. This would be a good tale today given our colorful array of ingredients, but at the time spirits were visually bland.
  • The British publication, Bartender, published a story in 1936 of English sailors, of decades before, being served mixed drinks in Mexico. The drinks were stirred with a Cola de Gallo (Cock's tail), a long root of similar shape to the bird’s tail.
  • Another Cocktail story refers to the leftovers of a cask of ale, called cock tailings. The cock tailings from various spirits would be mixed together and sold at a lower priced mixed beverage of questionable integrity.
  • Yet another unappetizing origin tells of a cock ale, a mash of ale mixed with whatever was available to be fed to fighting cocks.
  • Cocktail may have derived from the French term for egg cup, coquetel. One story that brought this reference to America speaks of Antoine Amedie Peychaud of New Orleans who mixed his Peychaud bitters into a stomach remedy served in a coquetel. Not all of Peychaud’s customers could pronounce the word and it became known as Cocktail. This story doesn't add up because of conflicting dates.
  • The word Cocktail may be a distant derivation of the name for the Aztec goddess, Xochitl. Xochitl was also the name of a Mexican princess who served drinks to American soldiers.
  • It was an 18th and 19th century custom to dock draft horses' tales. This caused the tales to stick up like a cocks tail. As the story goes, a reader’s letter to the balance explains that when drunk these Cocktails made you cock your tail up in the same manner.
  • Another horse tail supposes the influence of breeders term for a mix breed horse, or cock-tails. Both racing and drinking were popular among the majority of Americans at the time and it’s possible the term transferred from mixed breeds to mixed drinks.
  • There's a quirky story of an American tavern keeper who stored alcohol in a ceramic, rooster-shaped container. When patrons wanted another round they tapped the rooster’s tail.
  • In George Bishop’s The Booze Reader: A Soggy Saga of Man in His Cups (1965) he says, "The word itself stems from the English cock-tail which, in the middle 1800’s, referred to a woman of easy virtue who was desirable but impure…and applied to the newly acquired American habit of bastardizing good British Gin with foreign matter, including ice."

Zombie

This version of Zombie cocktail I was found in one book by Salvatore Calabrese. Calabrese say that this is original version of Zombie. I don`t think so, but I can say that this cocktail is very good! :)

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Zombie

30 ml light rum
30 ml gold rum
30 ml dark rum
20 ml cherry brandy
20 ml apricot brandy
100 ml pineapple juice
60 ml fresh orange juice
20 ml fresh lime juice
40 ml fresh papaya juice
1 tsp orgeat
15 ml overproof damerara rum
Shake all ingredients except overproof rum. Serve in tall glass (zombie) or hurricane glass. Float overproof rum, garnish with maraschino cherry, piece of pineapple or lime, or orange and sugar powder.

Admirable! This excellent cocktail has very smooth and well-balanced taste. It is not so sweet many other tiki-cocktail and I think is good.

Zombie #2

I think Zombie is amazing cocktail. I investigate recipe of this cocktail during long time, and I understand that Zombie is a complex, well-balanced strong tiki-drink with a lot of variations. It is good for me. I have not falernum or 151-proof rum, which are mentioned in many recipes, but I have many excellent componenets such as aged damerara rums or exotic liqueurs, which I would try in this cocktail.

I construct own Zombie recipe with mix of four citrus juices, passion fruit syrup, exotic orange liqueur and four rums. Please try it and comment my creations.

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Zombie

10 ml fresh lime juice
10 ml fresh lemon juice
10 ml fresh grapefruit juice
50 ml fresh orange juice
15 ml passion fruit syrup
1 tsp. grenadine
30 ml BOLS Red Orange liqueur
20 ml white rum
20 ml gold rum
20 ml dark rum
1 dash Angostura bitters
15 ml aged damerara rum
Shake all ingredients (except damerara rum) in ice-filled shaker. Strain in to zombie glass (or hurricane) with crushed ice. Float damerara rum. Garnish with exotic fruit.

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Admirable!!! It is beautifull drink. I think, what I would try many variations of Zombie on this summer.

Yellow bird

It is small exotic cocktail from Caribbean.

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Yellow Bird

30 ml white rum
15 ml Cointreau
15 ml Galliano
15 ml fresh lime juice
Shake. Cocktail glass, garnish with orange slice and optional - lime peel.

Admirable!

White Knight

I do not love very much a creamy cocktails, Irish creams and cream. But many of my female friends (understand? is it correct?) love these things very, very much. Some times I think about to devote grandiose investigation of this kind of liquors and drinks from it.

This cocktail has typical composition but very romantic name. But I feel queasy from the picture of this cocktail…

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White Knight

45 ml Irish cream liqueur
15 ml Irish whiskey
15 ml coconut rum
45 ml half & half
Shake. Old-fashioned glass, garnish with coconut wedge…

Mortal knight! drink.

Watermelon Margarita

One more margarita on my blog. This cocktail is rare chance to use watermelon liqueur. I has one bottle of it - Marie Brizzard Watermelon no so artificial as I suppose. The taste of ripe watermelon is great sign of summer, and this cocktail is drink with great summer taste arround year.

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Watermelon Margarita

30 ml silver tequila
30 ml watermelon liqueur
40 ml margarita mix
Shake witk a lot of cracked ice. Serve in cocktail or margarita glass. Garnish with piece if fruit.

Margarita mix is a mix of equal parts of fresh lemon, lime juice, Cointreau and gomme syrup.

Admirable!

Watermelon Margarita


One more margarita on my blog. This cocktail is rare chance to use watermelon liqueur. I has one bottle of it - Marie Brizzard Watermelon no so artificial as I suppose. The taste of ripe watermelon is great sign of summer, and this cocktail is drink with great summer taste arround year.

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Watermelon Margarita

30 ml silver tequila
30 ml watermelon liqueur
40 ml margarita mix
Shake witk a lot of cracked ice. Serve in cocktail or margarita glass. Garnish with piece if fruit.

Margarita mix is a mix of equal parts of fresh lemon, lime juice, Cointreau and gomme syrup.

Admirable!

The Vipera

Cocktail
The Vipera
Ingredients:
- 2 oz pear infused Herradura Silver Tequila
- 1/2 oz yellow chartreuse
- 1/2 oz applejack bonded

Stir over cracked ice and strain into an A/P coupe or martini glass. Garnish with a thin pear slice.

Pear Infused Tequila:
Take 3 Bartlett pears and 1 Granny Smith Apple, cut into cubes (peels, cores, & all). Add 2 cloves and one cinnamon stick and one liter of Herradura Silver Tequila. Store in a glass container for 6 days, shaking it periodically. Then double strain all the fruit and spices out and keep refrigerated. (Created by: Brian Miller of Death and Company, NYC)

Velvet Hammer

Sip slowly and feel as this Velvet Hammer to pet your lips and mind.

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Velvet Hammer

30 ml Cointreau
30 ml coffee liqueur (I use Kahlua)
30 ml cream
Shake. Cocktail glass.

Tutti Frutti

This modern cocktail has unusual candy taste. I think is a good choice for party-bar in summer.It is so delicious concoction with big amount of liquid and sugar. Great choice for girls on dance floor :)

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Tutti Frutti

20 ml passion fruit liqueur
20 ml melon liqueur
20 ml silver tequila
100 ml cranberry juice
Shake liqueurs and tequila. Strain in ice-filled collins glass. Garnish with lime wedge.

Admirable!

True Love

It is great idea - the taste of true love! This cocktail has interesting composition of sweet and bitter tastes. It is ideal choice for summer evening for two (teens ;).

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True Love

30 ml Parfait Amour
30 ml Galliano
90 ml fresh grapefruit juice
15 ml gomme syrup
Shake. Collins glass with ice. Garnish with piece of your heart :) or something red.

Conclusion: True Love is like a candy :) but have some bittermes in the end ;)

Tropicana Belle

In my home bar come to hand very interesting thing - Boulard Calvados Pays d`Auge.

This unusual cocktail is sweet memories about summer in today`s cold, dank
evening.

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Tropicana Belle

15 ml Galliano
15 ml Calvados
15 ml genever
8 ml maraschino cherry juice
Blend with lot of ice, serve in snifter.

Tokyo Tea


This libation uses the same liquors as the original Long Island, but is crowned with one-half to one full ounce of Midori instead of Coca-Cola. Also referred to as a “Three Mile Island.”

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Tokyo Tea

20 ml gin
20 ml tequila
20 ml vodka
20 ml light rum
20 ml Cointreau
20 ml fresh lemon juice
30 ml Midori
splash of club soda
Shake all ingredients except soda, strain in ice-filled collins glass (400 ml) and add of club soda. Garnish with lemon slice.

I feel myself like real japanese after this very “refreshing” drink ;)

Tequila Sunrise

It is one of modern fetish. My favorite recipe is not so simple as original (or common).

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Tequila Sunrise

7 ml grenadine
7 ml creme de cassis
splash soda
fill the orange juice
20 ml reposado tequila
Shake grenadine, creme de cassis, soda and strain in icefilled collins glass. Add ice and orange juice, float tequila.

Tequila Fresa

Another beautifull strawberry cocktail for St. Valentins Day (or 8 March Day…).

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Tequila Fresa

45 ml tequila
20 ml strawberry liqueur
15 ml fresh lime juice
2 dash orange bitters
Shake. Cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist and strawberry.

Admirable!

Actually I don`t have orange bitters in my liquor cabinet. Therefor I prepare a substitute of it as described here.