The history of cocktails is as interesting as the drink that we mix to enjoy our evenings. The history of cocktails goes back to the early years of the 1800s when it is assumed by most experts that it was during that time cocktails were created in the USA. It is understood that Professor Jerry Thomas, an American, was the inventor while servicing customers as a bartender. It was in 1862 that Thomas published the first bar manual that carried the ingredients for cocktails, some that were already being tried out and some that were his inventions. He is regarded as the father of American cocktails.
Currently, there are 6 basic cocktails in the world namely the Old Fashioned, Martini, Daiquiri, Sidecar, Whiskey Highball, and Flip. In each drink, every ingredient falls into at least one of the categories of cocktails. When the first mixed drink came into existence in the USA, they had simple concoctions. The drinks consisted of spirits, sugar, and bitters.
Early Cocktails
Early cocktails grew out of an experiment with ingredients by different bartenders. The bartenders were thought to be very intelligent as the bar and saloons were the places most folks gathered. These people consisted of politicians, businessmen, laborers, and immigrants and they would talk, exchange information and ideas, and would generally come to enjoy their every day. The bartenders were always the ones who would express their opinion and share suggestions and therefore were thought to be pretty intelligent.
Naturally, their suggestions about mixing drinks were thought to be superior and widely accepted, and this way the cocktail came into existence. The oldest cocktail is the Old Fashioned cocktail which was created in Kentucky. It is made with bourbon or rye, bitter, whiskey, sugar, and an orange peel.
Earlier, cocktails were a mix with all ingredients and different techniques were also invented to give them a special flavor. It was with the invention of the shaker that cocktails became a rage with customers. The shaker helped mix ingredients much more effectively and efficiently and thus it was possible to create a wider range of cocktails.
Rise and fall of Cocktails in the USA
In the 1920s there came into existence Prohibition in the United States of America made manufacturing drinks illegal. Numerous bars and saloons across the country were forced to close down their business. After the ban was lifted in 1933 the cocktails recovered pretty slowly and never came up to the mark of their past glory.
However, in the history of cocktails, the recovery did happen after a dull phase and bartenders again brought out their unique art of mixing drinks before the public. They were once more regarded as experts and innovators and the cocktail culture once more thrived all over the country.
Currently, the most ordered cocktail in the world is the classic Margarita with several variations like tequila, Triple Sec, and lime juice. The Sazerac is the oldest cocktail and has been invented in New Orleans, Louisiana. Today, you have a wide range of cocktails like Dry Martini, Margarita, Daiquiri, Aperol Spritz, Espresso Martini, Manhattan, Whiskey Sour, and so on.
