Nothing resembles more alchemy than mixology: the art of creating cocktails, the perfect combination of the perfect ingredients for a perfect result, and in this case, delicious results. From punch to margarita, from sweet to sour, from fun to elegant, don’t we all love a good and surprising cocktail?
For as long as people have been drinking alcohol, they have been mixing their drinks, from China to Greece, from spiked beers to infused wines. Since the arrival of sugar and the first spices and the invention of distillation, the long path alcoholic beverages travelled till they reached the point of being called cocktails and owing that definition is long. And by definition, a cocktail is of course a type of mixed drink, commonly containing one or a combination of alcoholic spirits and liqueur and may contain juices, sodas and other flavorings or colourants. It is usually decorated (“garnished”) with edible and/or non-edible items like fruit and plastic swizzle sticks or straws.
The vintage vibe
The world’s most enduring and famous cocktail, punch, was already drunk in India in the 17th century; in the US taverns, in the 18th century, there was the flip (beer, sugar, dried pumpkin, eggs and spices), while in Europe other mixes started to thrive. And that only evolved when refrigeration arrived in the scene, being easier to make ice, a key element to soothe and democratize the so-far strong and heavy mixes. By the 1800s famous blends were appearing all over the world: Britain, France, Italy, Australia, etc.
But it was in America the first written mention of cocktails as a beverage, which appeared in The Farmers Cabinet, in 1803. And the oldest printed cocktail recipe dates from 1831: a certain Captain J.E. Alexander refers to a mix of gin, brandy or rum, one part of which is to be mixed with two parts of water and flavoured with sugar and nutmeg. 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". Interestingly, he distinguished “cocktails” from other mixed drinks as those ones containing bitters. These days, bitters are still used, but are perhaps not so popular in cocktail mixing as in the old days.
After that, cocktails popularised and we see a boom of recipes, among them the most traditional ones we know until today. Mixed drinks popular today that conform to this original meaning of "cocktail" include the Old Fashioned, the Sazerac, and the Manhattan.
The dry days
But then in 1919 America embarked on the Prohibition years which led to a decrease in the ingredients quality (as they were mostly illegal distilleries) and lower consumptions, and many bartenders emigrated to Europe. During the same time, “speakeasies” – bars with restaurants and sometimes clubs – became very popular. Often, the bartenders would mix alcohol with a number of other ingredients like creams and juices to both hide it from the police (at least by the looks of it) and disguise the poor taste of the alcohol.
After the Prohibition ended in 1933, bartenders and mixologists were free to experiment with spirits and liquors and this started the still-continuing cocktail age. Inevitably, mixed drinks and cocktails soared in popularity. Although there were times in the 1900’s when cocktails were not so popular (during the World Wars for example), cocktails became very popular again in the late 70’s and early 80’s. This was largely the result of an explosion of interesting new kinds of drinks, like flavoured vodkas and schnapps.
The creative culture
Today we are very privileged to be able to use the most natural and high-quality ingredients for the fabrication of both the spirits and cocktails. There’s no limit to creativity, as long as the right flavors and balances are put together, it’s all in for a drink! Follow us along here to discover more about the original cocktails and how they have been reinvented over the decades.