Cocktail
StyleA cocktail is a spirit mixed with sugar, water and bitters, as the first printed definition described it in 1806.
- First known printed use
- March 20, 1798, The Morning Post and Gazetteer, London
- First printed definition
- May 13, 1806, The Balance and Columbian Repository, Hudson, New York
- Formula
- 2 oz (60 ml) spirit, 1 sugar cube or 0.25 oz (7 ml) syrup, 2 dashes bitters, water from stirring with ice
What cocktail means
The build matters more than the name. Most cocktails balance something strong, something sweet and a bitter or sour element. Stirring or shaking with ice is part of the recipe, because the melted ice becomes the water in the old definition.
The word first appeared in print on March 20, 1798, in The Morning Post and Gazetteer in London. You meet cocktails on most bar menus, such as the Old Fashioned, Martini, Manhattan, Daiquiri, Margarita, Negroni and Whiskey Sour. Each one changes the spirit, sugar or bitter to make a different drink.
Most beginners assume the word comes from rooster tail feathers used to garnish drinks. No one knows where cocktail comes from, and several stories compete without proof. A cocktail is alcoholic by definition. The alcohol-free version is a mocktail.
How to make a cocktail
The formula is simple, with a spirit, a sugar element, bitters and ice to stir with.
- 1.Add 2 oz (60 ml) spirit to a mixing glass.
- 2.Add 1 sugar cube or 0.25 oz (7 ml) syrup, and 2 dashes of bitters.
- 3.Fill the glass with ice and stir until the drink is cold and diluted.
- 4.Strain the drink into a glass, and add a garnish if you want one.
Cocktail compared
- MocktailA mocktail copies the build of a cocktail with no alcohol.
- Mixed drinkMixed drink covers anything combining alcohol with another liquid, such as a rum and cola. Cocktail first meant spirit, sugar, water and bitters.
- SlingA sling is spirit, sugar and water. The 1806 definition called a cocktail a bittered sling, the same drink with bitters.
Examples
- Old Fashioned
- Martini
- Manhattan
- Daiquiri
- Margarita
- Negroni
- Mojito
- Whiskey Sour
Related terms
Ingredients
Put it to use in your next drink
Garçon explains every step as you make the drink.