COCKTAILS

History
Types
Recipes

HISTORY

The History of the Cocktail

1860 to 1920 California: The Birthplace of the First Cocktails

The cocktail's fragmented history begins in the nineteenth century. One of the first
modern cocktails to be named and recognized is the martini. It can be traced back to
an 1862 recipe for the Martinez. This American recipe consisted of four parts sweet
red vermouth to one part gin, garnished with a cherry. "Professor" Jerry Thomas
tended the bar of the old Occidental Hotel in San Francisco and reputedly made the
drink for a gold miner on his way to the town of Martinez, which lay forty miles to the
east. The recipe for the Martinez in Thomas' 1887 bartender's guide called for Old
Tom gin, sweet vermouth, a dash of maraschino and bitters, as well as a slice of
lemon and two dashes of gum syrup.

The true creation of a popular cocktail can be traced to the nineteenth century. One
early written reference to the term "cocktail" (as a drink based on spirits with other
spirits and additives) can be found in an American magazine, The Balance,
published in May 1806. It stated that a "Cocktail is a stimulating liquor, composed of
spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters..."

What we do know is that by 1900, the martini had become known nationwide and had
spread to the other side of the Atlantic. This is said by some to be the beginning of
the golden age of cocktails. During this time a basic list of cocktails emerged and
steadily became more and more popular.

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.
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 birds tail.
Cocktail may have derived from the French term for egg cup, coquetel.
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.
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 its 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
roosters tail.
In George Bishops 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 1800s,
referred to a woman of easy virtue who was desirable but impureand applied to the
newly acquired American habit of bastardizing good British Gin with foreign matter,
including ice

COCKTAILS
It is a mixed drink consisting of two or more
ingredients
Usually a spirit base and a flavouring, colouring
ingredient or a modifier.
Cocktails maybe short or long
Can be served before dinner or after dinner
Pre dinner cocktails are Whisky Sour,
Manhattan, Martini etc
After dinner cocktails are usually sweet and
creamy frappes, Alexanders etc

COCKTAILS

1.
2.
3.

Measures for cocktails:

Nip 30 ml
Dash just a few drops
A Split - a small drink bottle( about 285
ml) that is used for cocktails mainly as
bigger bottles can go flat

RULES FOR MAKING

COCKTAILS
Keep it simple
Follow formula one base spirit plus one
or two liqueurs and one or more non
alcoholic ingredients
Do not make cocktails with more than 3
spirits
Present it well

METHODS OF MIXING COCKTAILS

SHAKING Put all ingredients together with plenty of ice in a
cocktail shaker and shake them till the shaker is frostyunless recipe states, always strain and serve NEVER Shake
fizzy ingredients such as champagne or post mix always
add fizzy drink later
A traditional shaker has three parts the based, strainer and
the lid not common in bars now
Boston Shaker Two halves one fitting over other
American Shaker Two halves, one is glass and other is
metal

 Hawthorne Strainer is designed to strain mixed drinks

the prong fit over the side of the mixing glass to hold it.
The wire coil can be removed to clean
STIRRING Clear drinks are stirred with ice, not
shaken. Clear drinks do not contain any milk, fruit juice
or cream. Put all ingredients in a mixing glass, stir with a
long handled bar spoon, strain and serve

 BLEND usually done in an electric blender used

with fresh fruit, fruit pieces, cream Key is to use little

ice as it will dilute the cocktail. Carbonated drink if any
used in recipe is always added after the ingredients are
blended and at the end.

BUILDING Put ice in glass first and other ingredients,

stirred and garnish added. Usually a stirrer or swizzle
stick is added.

LAYERING These drinks are built in the glass, NOT

STIRRED.
Drinks are poured over end of a bar spoon to minimise
disturbing
the drink. Usually the most thick liquid at the bottom
followed
by less thick etc Eg Shooters

MUDDLING Refers to drinks that are crushed

using a muddle stick in a mixing glass
Most popular cocktails today Eg. Mojito

 SHOOTERS Served in a shot glass.

Layered drinks pour on the side and
start to bring glass upright a mixologist
technique! Eg B 52
PRESENTATION
Presentation of
cocktails is very
important
correct glass,
correct garnish etc

COCKTAIL GLASSES
Shot 60 ml

Martini 90 ml

Manhattan 140 ml

 Champagne Saucer
180 ml

Old Fashioned
200 ml
Hi Ball 300 ml

Champagne Flute
180 ml

Brandy Balloon
300 ml

Champagne Tulip
180 ml

Colada Glass 400 ml

 Frosting a glass done by wetting the rim

of glass with lemon, water, spirit or orange
juice and then placing glass upside down
on a small plate of sugar or salt

Chilling of a glass Use glasses that are

chilled in fridge or place ice in glass when
cocktail is being made the idea is to
serve the cocktail in a chilled glass

COCKTAIL GARNISHES
Garnish is added to cocktail to add colour
and flavour Eg cocktail onion is used for
Gibson, Cherry for Sweet Martini, Olive for
Dry Martini
Garnishes should be made fresh for the
day but not all fruit can be cut in
advance

COCKTAIL GARNISHES
Rules for Fruit garnishes
Bananas & Apples to be cut only when needed they
will go off otherwise
Celery can be cut before service
Cherrries can be cut and prepared before service
Melon can be prepared before service
Pineapple wedges can be prepared before service
Kiwi fruit should only be cut just before cocktail times eg
4 pm
Mint must be refrigerated after cleaning and in air tight
container
Citrus Fruits Lemon, Limes, Orange can

COCKTAIL GARNISHES
Twists Fruit to be cut thin(about 1 cm
wide and five cm long) for a twist and then
twist the slice over the drink used in
Martinis
Spirals - Use a peeler or a paring knife to
cut a long peel used in cocktails where
one end of the spiral is held inside glass
by ice and other over glass

SYRUPS AND NON ALCOHOLIC

INGREDIENTS

Coconut Cream
Grenadine
Orgeat Syrup almond flavoured syrup
Sugar Syrup
Juices
Fruit Flavoured Syrups Monin brand
such as hazelnut, cherry, coffee etc

SERVICE OF COCKTAILS
Usually served in lounge bars
Always use a tray to carry glasses
Place glasses on tables with coasters
under them

BUILD COCKTAILS
Name

Ingredients

Glass

Remarks

Screwdriver

Vodka & Orange

Juice

Hi ball

Orange Slice is
garnish

Rusty Nail

Scotch & Drambuie Old Fashioned

No garnish

Godfather

Scotch & Amaretto

Old Fashioned

No garnish

Irish Coffee

Irish Whiskey,
Coffee & Cream

Latte Glass

Coffee bean

Cuba Libre

Rum & Cola

Hi Ball Glass

Lime Wedge

Dark & Stormy

Rum & Ginger Beer Hi Ball Glass

Lime Wedge

Bucks Fizz

Champagne &
Orange Juice

Champagne Flute

Orange Peel

Old Fashioned

Bourbon, sugar
syrup, bitters

Old Fashioned

Orange twist and

cherry

Tequila Sunrise

Tequila, Orange
Juice, Grenadine

Hi Ball Glass

Orange Slice