World Cocktail Day

The Day Mixing Became Art

History in a Sip
On May 13, 1806, a New York newspaper published the official definition of this magic word for the first time. At the time, they described the cocktail as a "stimulating liquor, composed of spirits, sugar, water and bitters". Essentially, what the world had just christened was the great-great-grandfather of the classic Old Fashioned.

The name?
Legend has it that it comes from the vibrant colors -resembling a cock’s tail – used to decorate drinks. Or perhaps it stems from the pratice of docking the tails of mixed-breed horses (making them “cockted tails”); since the cocktail was a “mixed drink” (not pure alcohol), the name may have been a metaphor!