View source for Cocktail

{{Short description|Combination of spirits and alcohol}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
[[File:15-09-26-RalfR-WLC-0084.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A [[Martini (cocktail)|martini]] served in a [[cocktail glass]]]]
A '''cocktail''' is a [[mixed drink]], usually  [[alcoholic beverage|alcoholic]]. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more [[liquor|spirit]]s mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, [[flavored syrup]]s, [[tonic water]], [[Shrub (drink)|shrubs]], and [[bitters]]. 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The World's Best-Selling Classic Cocktails 2021 – Drinks International – The global choice for drinks buyers|url=https://drinksint.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/9319/The_World_92s_Best-Selling_Classic_Cocktails_2021.html|access-date=May 10, 2021|website=drinksint.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=10 Classic Cocktails|url=https://www.allrecipes.com/gallery/classic-cocktails/|access-date=May 10, 2021|website=Allrecipes|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=15 Bubbly Champagne Cocktails|url=https://www.allrecipes.com/gallery/champagne-cocktails/|access-date=May 10, 2021|website=Allrecipes|language=en}}</ref>

== History ==

[[File:Cocktail accessories - Aigai.jpg|thumb|Cocktail accessories dating back to the 4th century BCE. Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai, Greece]]
A well-known "cocktail" in ancient Greece was named [[kykeon]]. It is mentioned in the Homeric texts and was used in the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]. "Cocktail" accessories are exposed in the [[Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai (Vergina)|Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai]] (Greece). They were used in the court of [[Philip II of Macedon]] to prepare and serve mixtures of wine, water, honey as well as extracts of aromatic herbs and flowers, during the banquets. 

In the United States, a written mention of "cocktail" as a beverage appeared in ''The Farmers Cabinet,'' 1803. 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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=May 13, 1806|title=The Coalead|volume=V|page=146|work=The Balance and Columbian Repository|issue=19|url=http://www.imbibemagazine.com/images/Balance_5-13-1806.pdf|url-status=dead|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713113329/http://www.imbibemagazine.com/images/Balance_5-13-1806.pdf|archive-date=July 13, 2014}}</ref> Traditionally, cocktail ingredients included spirits, sugar, water and bitters;<ref name="Professor" /> however, this definition evolved throughout the 1800s to include the addition of a [[liqueur]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Professor" />

In 1862, [[Jerry Thomas (bartender)|Jerry Thomas]] published a bartender's 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.

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]]'' was coined by Julius S. Walsh Jr. of [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]]. With wine and beer being less available during the [[Prohibition in the United States]] (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.<ref name="Mixellany">{{Cite book|last=Brown|first=Jared|title=Mixologist. Volume two, The Journal of the American Cocktail|publisher=Mixellany|others=Anistatia Miller|year=2006|isbn=9780976093718|location=London|oclc=806005376}}</ref> By 2023, the so-called "cocktail in a can" had proliferated (at least in the United States) to become a common item in liquor stores.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=<!-- no author attribution --> |date=July 2023 |title=Cocktails to Go |department=CRInsights |magazine=[[Consumer Reports]] |volume=88 |issue=6 |page=15}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 24, 2019|title=Pittsburgh's 17 Essential Cocktail Bars|url=https://goodfoodpittsburgh.com/pittsburghs-17-essential-cocktail-bars/|access-date=May 10, 2021|website=Good Food Pittsburgh|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=July 11, 2019|title=The 7 best Beijing bars to have excellent craft cocktails|url=https://www.lifestyleasia.com/kl/food-drink/drinks/7-best-beijing-bars-craft-cocktails/|access-date=May 10, 2021|website=Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur|language=en-US}}</ref> Some cocktails, such as the [[Mojito]], [[Manhattan (cocktail)|Manhattan]], and [[Martini (cocktail)|Martini]], have become staples in restaurants<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Dangremond|first1=Sam|last2=Hubbard|first2=Lauren|date=June 24, 2020|title=The Easiest Classic Cocktails to Make at Home|url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/drinks/g13092298/popular-bar-drinks-to-order/|access-date=May 10, 2021|website=Town & Country|language=en-US}}</ref> and pop culture.

== Components ==
In general terms the most important elements consist of the base, a modifying, smoothing or aromatizing agent, and an additional special flavouring or coloring agent.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Embury |first=David A. |title=The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks |publisher=Faber and Faber Limited |year=2008 |location=London |pages=24–25}}</ref>

The base will always be the most dominant ingredient. It constitutes at least 50% of the entire volume of the cocktail, and always consists of spirit based [[Liquor|liquors]] or wine based liquors.<ref name=":62">{{Cite book |last=Embury |first=David A. |title=The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks |publisher=Faber and Faber Limited |year=2008 |location=London |pages=24–25}}</ref> The type of base will determine the style of liquor, thus [[gin]] based cocktails, such as the [[Martini (cocktail)|Martini]], will differ from whisky based cocktails, such as the [[Manhattan (cocktail)|Manhattan]].<ref name=":62" /> It is possible to mix a cocktail combining a number of bases, as long as they share essential characteristics, though it is considered "dangerous".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Embury |first=David A. |title=The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks |publisher=Faber and Faber Limited |year=2008 |location=London |pages=24–25}}</ref>

The modifying agent functions as a buffer for the sharp bite of the base, and adds character to its natural flavour.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Embury |first=David A. |title=The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks |publisher=Faber and Faber Limited |year=2008 |location=London |pages=25–27}}</ref> Modifiers can be classified into the three categories of aromatics and bitters, fruit juices (with or without sugar), and smoothing agents (such as cream, sugar, eggs, or [[aquafaba]]).<ref name=":7" /> Modifiers are often used sparingly so as not to overpower the base, [[The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks|Embury]] suggested a maximum of half an egg white, one quarter of a whole egg, one tablespoon of heavy cream or one teaspoon of sugar per drink.<ref name=":7" />

Special flavouring agents, including not only non-alcoholic syrups but also various liqueurs and cordials, as well as other ingredients which could also be used as modifiers.<ref name=":8">Embury, David A. (2008). ''The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks''. London: Faber and Faber Limited. pp.&nbsp;27-28.</ref> Like the modifiers, special care must be taken so that the special flavouring agent does not overpower the base. For this reason quantities are often limited to drops and dashes.<ref name=":8" />

== Usage and related terms ==
[[File:The_Official_Queen_Mary_Cocktail.jpg|thumb|[[Queen Mary (cocktail)|Queen Mary]], a [[North America]]n cocktail, made by combining [[beer]], [[grenadine]] and [[Maraschino cherry|Maraschino cherries]]]]
The term ''cocktail'' can refer to a wide variety of drinks; it is typically a [[mixed drink]] containing alcohol.<ref>{{cite OCSC|page=161}}</ref>

When a combined drink contains only a [[distilled beverage|distilled spirit]] and a [[Drink mixer|mixer]], such as [[Carbonated water|soda]] or [[fruit juice]], it is a [[highball]]. Many of the International Bartenders Association [[IBA Official Cocktail|Official Cocktails]] are highballs. When a mixed drink contains only a distilled spirit and a [[liqueur]], it is a duo, and when it adds cream or a cream-based liqueur, it is a trio. Additional ingredients may be sugar, [[honey]], milk, [[cream]], and various herbs.<ref>{{cite book|author=DeGroff|first=Dale|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huN5AAAACAAJ|title=The Craft of the Cocktail|publisher=Proof Publishing Limited|year=2003|isbn=9780954586904|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419150619/https://books.google.com/books/about/?id=huN5AAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Non-alcoholic mixed drink|Mixed drinks without alcohol]] that resemble cocktails can be known as "zero-proof" or "virgin" cocktails or "mocktails".

== Etymology ==
The origin of the word "cocktail" is disputed. It is presumably from "cock-tail", meaning "with tail standing up, like a cock's", in particular of a horse, but how this came to be applied to alcoholic mixed drinks is unclear. The most prominent theories are that it refers to a stimulant, hence a ''stimulating'' drink, or to a non-purebred horse, hence a ''mixed'' drink.

Cocktail historian David Wondrich speculates that "cocktail" is a reference to [[gingering]], 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",<ref>{{Cite web|last=Archibald|first=Anna|title=The Origin of 'Cocktail' Is Not What You Think|url=http://liquor.com/articles/the-origin-of-cocktail-is-not-what-you-think/#gs.Ke8aTTo|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124012550/http://liquor.com/articles/the-origin-of-cocktail-is-not-what-you-think/|archive-date=November 24, 2020|access-date=April 19, 2021|website=Liquor.com}}</ref> hence by extension a stimulating drink, like ''pick-me-up''. This agrees with usage in early citations (1798: "'cock-tail' (vulgarly called ginger)", 1803: drink at 11 a.m. to clear the head, 1806: "stimulating liquor"), and suggests that a cocktail was initially considered a medicinal drink, which accords with the use of bitters.

Etymologist [[Anatoly Liberman]] endorses as "highly probable" the theory advanced by Låftman (1946), which Liberman summarizes as follows:<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Donka|first1=Robert|title=Studies in the History of the English Language V: Variation and Change in English Grammar and Lexicon: Contemporary Approaches|last2=Cloutier|first2=Robert|last3=Stockwell|first3=Anne|last4=William|first4=Kretzschmar|publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter]]|year=2010|isbn=9783110220322}}</ref>

{{blockquote|It was customary to dock the tails of horses that were not thoroughbred{{nbsp}}[...] They were called cocktailed horses, later simply cocktails. By extension, the word cocktail was applied to a vulgar, ill-bred person raised above his station, assuming the position of a gentleman but deficient in gentlemanly breeding.{{nbsp}}[...] Of importance [in the 1806 citation above] is{{nbsp}}[...] the mention of water as an ingredient.{{nbsp}}[...] Låftman concluded that cocktail was an acceptable alcoholic drink, but diluted, not a "purebred", a thing "raised above its station". Hence the highly appropriate slang word used earlier about inferior horses and sham gentlemen.}}

=== Citations ===
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:<ref>{{cite book|author=Brown|first=Jared|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OiKc-UoIVZsC|title=Spirituous Journey: A History of Drink|publisher=Clearview Books|year=2011|isbn=9781908337092|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419150617/https://books.google.com/books?id=OiKc-UoIVZsC|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{poemquote|
Mr. Pitt,
two petit vers of "L'huile de Venus"
Ditto, one of "perfeit amour"
Ditto, "cock-tail" (vulgarly called ginger)
}}

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:<ref name="Wondrich">{{cite book|last=Wondrich|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IBqdBAAAQBAJ|title=Imbibe!|publisher=Penguin|year=2015|isbn=9780698181854|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=April 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428203014/https://books.google.com/books?id=IBqdBAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|11. [a.m.] Drank a glass of cocktail—excellent for the head...Call'd at the Doct's. found Burnham—he looked very wise—drank another glass of cocktail.}}

[[File:The first definition of Cocktail.jpg|thumb|The first known definition of a cocktail, by [[Harry Croswell]]]]
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?":

{{blockquote|''Cock-tail'' is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and [[bitters]]—it is vulgarly called ''bittered sling'', and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, in as much as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head. It is said, also to be of great use to a [[United States Democratic-Republican Party|democratic]] candidate: because a person, having swallowed a glass of it, is ready to swallow any thing else.<ref>[http://www.imbibemagazine.com/images/Balance_5-13-1806.pdf ''The Balance and Columbian Repository''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713113329/http://www.imbibemagazine.com/images/Balance_5-13-1806.pdf |date=2014-07-13 }}, May 13, 1806, No. 19, Vol. V, page 146</ref>}}

=== Folk etymologies ===
Other origins have been suggested, as [[Language change|corruptions]] of other words or phrases. These can be dismissed as [[folk etymology|folk etymologies]], given the well-attested term "cock-tail" for a horse.

[[Dale DeGroff]] hypothesizes that the word evolved from the French {{lang|fr|coquetier}}, 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Craft of the Cocktail|last=DeGroff|first=Dale|publisher=Clarkson Potter|year=2002|isbn=0-609-60875-4|location=New York City|pages=6|language=en}}</ref>

Several authors have theorized that "cocktail" may be a [[Language change|corruption]] of "[[cock ale]]".<ref>{{Cite web|title=cocktail, adj. and n.|url=https://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/35499|url-status=live|access-date=April 19, 2021|website=[[Oxford English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|archive-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419150617/https://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/35499}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=(the Wordsmith)|first=Chrysti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=neH-xQQWbowC|title=Verbivore's Feast: A Banquet of Word & Phrase Origins|publisher=Farcountry Press|year=2004|isbn=9781560372653|pages=68|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=August 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805062559/https://books.google.com/books?id=neH-xQQWbowC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Powers|first=Madelon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99IDuIGxckcC|title=Faces Along the Bar: Lore and Order in the Workingman's Saloon, 1870-1920|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=1998|isbn=9780226677682|pages=272–273|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=December 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223215848/https://books.google.com/books?id=99IDuIGxckcC|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Development ==
[[File:Tom Collins, Seven Feathers.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|150px|A [[Tom Collins]], served in a [[Collins glass|glass]] of the same name.]]
There is a lack of clarity on the origins of cocktails.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Jared|date=December 13, 2012|title=The surprising history of the cocktail|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/travel/1256/the-surprising-history-of-the-cocktail.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013065914/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/travel/1256/the-surprising-history-of-the-cocktail.html|archive-date=October 13, 2013|access-date=April 19, 2021|website=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}</ref> Traditionally cocktails were a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and [[bitters]].<ref name="Professor">{{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Jerry|url=https://archive.org/details/howtomixdrinkso00schugoog|title=How To Mix Drinks: or, The bon-vivant's companion...|publisher=[[Dick & Fitzgerald]]|year=1862|location=New York}}</ref> By the 1860s, however, a cocktail frequently included a [[liqueur]].<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|date=February 15, 1880|title=The Democracy in Trouble|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/172179593|journal=Chicago Daily Tribune|volume=1880|page=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314105513/https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/doc/172179593.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Feb+15%2C+1880&author=&pub=Chicago+Daily+Tribune+%281872-1922%29&edition=&startpage=&desc=THE+DEMOCRACY+IN+TROUBLE.|archive-date=March 14, 2014|url-status=live|access-date=April 19, 2021|id={{ProQuest|172179593}} }}</ref><ref name="Professor" />

The first publication of a [[bartender]]s' guide which included cocktail recipes was in 1862 – ''How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon Vivant's Companion'', by "Professor" [[Jerry Thomas (bartender)|Jerry Thomas]]. In addition to recipes for punches, sours, slings, cobblers, shrubs, toddies, flips, and a variety of other mixed drinks were 10 recipes<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cocktail Recipes: Heretic Spirits|url=https://www.hereticspirits.com/recipe/|url-status=live|access-date=April 19, 2021|website=Heretic Spirits|archive-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419150619/https://www.hereticspirits.com/recipe/}}</ref> for "cocktails". A key ingredient distinguishing 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 (cocktail)|Old Fashioned]] whiskey cocktail, the [[Sazerac]] cocktail, and the [[Manhattan (cocktail)|Manhattan]] cocktail.

The ingredients listed (spirits, sugar, water, and bitters) match the ingredients of an [[Old fashioned (cocktail)|Old Fashioned]],<ref>{{cite book|author=Kappeler|first=George|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CvdAAQAAMAAJ|title=Modern American Drinks: How to Mix and Serve All Kinds of Cups and Drinks|publisher=Merriam Company|year=1895|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=April 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428202956/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Modern_American_Drinks/CvdAAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Wondrich" />

In the 1869 recipe book ''Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks'', by William Terrington, cocktails are described as:<ref name="Terrington1869">{{cite book|author=Terrington|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PTuvswEACAAJ|title=Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks: And of General Information on Beverages of All Kinds|publisher=Trieste Publishing Pty Limited|year=2017|isbn=9780649556090|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=April 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428202939/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cooling_Cups_and_Dainty_Drinks_And_of_Ge/PTuvswEACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|text=Cocktails are compounds very much used by "early birds" to fortify the inner man, and by those who like their consolations hot and strong.}}

The term [[highball]] appears during the 1890s to distinguish a drink composed only of a [[distilled beverage|distilled spirit]] and a [[Drink mixer|mixer]].<ref>{{cite web|title=highball {{!}} Origin and meaning of highball by Online Etymology Dictionary|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/highball|url-status=live|access-date=April 19, 2021|website=Etymonline.com|archive-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419150619/https://www.etymonline.com/word/highball}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Paul|first=Charlie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3PZAAQAAMAAJ|title=Recipes of American and Other Iced Drinks|publisher=G. Berridge|year=1936|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=April 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428202936/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Recipes_of_American_and_Other_Iced_Drink/3PZAAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
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 1{{nbsp}}p.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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Felten|first=Eric|date=October 6, 2007|title=St. Louis -- Party Central|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB119161653517750477|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309001325/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB119161653517750477|url-status=live}}</ref>

During [[Prohibition in the United States]] (1920–1933), when alcoholic beverages were illegal, cocktails were still consumed illegally in establishments known as [[speakeasy|speakeasies]]. The quality of the liquor available during Prohibition was much worse than previously.<ref name="Regan">{{cite book|author=Regan|first=Gary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fURBDwAAQBAJ|title=The Joy of Mixology, Revised and Updated Edition|publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group]]/[[Ten Speed Press]]|year=2018|isbn=9780451499035|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=April 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428203007/https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Joy_of_Mixology_Revised_and_Updated/fURBDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> There was a shift from [[whiskey]] to [[gin]], which does not require aging and is, therefore, easier to produce illicitly.<ref>{{cite news|author=Felten|first=Eric|date=November 29, 2008|title=Celebrating Cinco de Drinko|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122790942540265309|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205013526/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB122790942540265309|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Miller|first1=Jeffrey|date=January 15, 2019|title=The Prohibition-era origins of the modern craft cocktail movement|work=The Conversation|url=https://theconversation.com/the-prohibition-era-origins-of-the-modern-craft-cocktail-movement-109623|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=April 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405074223/https://theconversation.com/the-prohibition-era-origins-of-the-modern-craft-cocktail-movement-109623|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 (cocktail)|martini]]. Traditional cocktails began to make a comeback in the 2000s,<ref>{{cite book|author=Blue|first=Anthony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Hln0nEBZsoC|title=The Complete Book of Spirits|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|year=2004|isbn=9780060542184|pages=58|access-date=April 19, 2021|archive-date=November 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130192147/https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Complete_Book_of_Spirits.html?id=9Hln0nEBZsoC|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 uses novel ingredients and often complex flavors.<ref name="Mixellany"/>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Liquor}}
* [[The Museum of the American Cocktail]]

=== Lists ===
* [[List of beverages]]
* [[List of cocktails]]
* [[List of IBA official cocktails]]
* [[List of national drinks]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

=== Further reading ===
* {{cite web |title=Remembering When Cocktails Were Just Soup |first=Diana |last=Hubbell |date=23 Feb 2023 |website=Atlas Obscura |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/soup-on-the-rocks-cocktail}}

=== 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|Bartending/Cocktails}}
* {{Commons and category inline|Cocktail|Cocktails}}

{{Cocktails|IBA=y|wine=y}}
{{Alcoholic drinks}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cocktails| ]]