Where In The World Did Cocktails Come From?

But really, where? As it turns out, stories on the origin of the word cocktail have as many variations as cocktails themselves. The first recorded use of the word cocktail occured in The Morning Post and Gazetteer in London, England on March 20, 1798. My favorite theory on the word claims that leftover liquors from drinks were dumped into a ceramic container shaped like a rooster, allowing one to get cheap drinks from a tap set in the tail of the rooster; therefore called “cock’s tail” and eventually cocktail. Another theory refers to a 16th century drink called “cock-ale” which had the ingredient of (I’m serious) a dead rooster. After my research I decided that all these have one thing in common; they are a matter of taste…choose your story (and your beverage) wisely.



Blackberry Mojito (serves 2)
Ingredients:
12 fresh blackberries
16 mint leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
3 ounces white rum
1 ounce lime juice
club soda & ice (I opted out of these ingredients)
Directions:
In a shaker, place the mint leaves, blackberries and sugar and muddle well with mortar or the back of a spoon. Add the rum and lime juice and shake well.  Traditionally, you fill highball glasses with crushed ice and strain the drink into the glasses & then top it with club soda. I used champagne glasses with no ice and no club soda for a more dramatic look. Garnish with mint leaves,blackberries, and a slice of lime.



My brother strolled into my parent’s house on Saturday night with a massive box full of surprises. When questioned about what was in the box, he replied, “It’s my portable tiki bar.” Stevie is forever on the quest to find new things that fascinate him (a trait that we all love) and when this new thing just so happens to include specialty tiki cocktails, we transform into an overwhelmingly supportive family:)

Stevie’s Zombie (serves 1…yes, 1)
Ingredients:
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz unsweetened pineapple juice
1 oz passion fruit syrup
1 oz light Puerto Rican rum
1 oz gold Puerto Rican rum
1 oz Porter’s 151
1 teaspoon brown sugar syrup (Stevie infused this with orange flowers)
1 dash Angostura bitters
Directions:
Shake well with lots of crushed ice and pour into tall glass. Garnish with a mint sprig. These drinks were extra special served in my grandmother’s poodle glasses from the 1940’s and garnished with orange blossoms from my Dad’s grove. Enjoy but beware. As you can tell from the ingredients, these zombies will sneak up on you (really…3 ounces per drink). But perhaps if you are very lucky, your night will end with the entire family dancing in the living room to The Temptations.

Cheers!
-Bay