The evolution of best cocktail recipes

Let’s start with a story :

So, a man is walking into the bar and looking at some old and new glasses, may he or she is going to have a drink. Now when people think about what they are going to drink, but if they don’t know what to drink or what they are interested in to drink they will ask for a bar menu or cocktail list

But if this is the cocktail then what is the “Prawn or Shrimp cocktail” which was the most popular hors d’oeuvre in Great Britain as well as in the United States from the 1960s to 1980’s served in a conical glass.

Here in this article, we are more inclined towards knowing what COCKTAIL is or from where this word and drink came from? Also, we will share the best cocktail recipes

Where does this word come from?

This is one of the many stories that women who helped to divine the British decided she was going to a neighbors farm and she stole a chicken from the neighbor and took the tail of that chicken

“oh, I’ll just garnish the drink that my friends are drinking, here we are talking about 1776,1778

So what is this drink?

Grabbing a lemon or lime cutting it in half and squeezing in the glass find a spoon and stir the sugar into lime juice and then, at last, get the gin, that simple

Or something more

The old fashioned cocktail, made with whiskey, angostura bitters, sugar, and water reflects the traditional definition — it’s a cocktail made in the old fashioned way

The Oxford English dictionary labels ‘cocktail’ an American word in origin, with the first recorded use of the word to refer to a beverage found in an 1803 issue of the Amherst.

New Hampshire newspaper called :

“Drank a glass of cocktail-excellent for the head…

Call the Doctor’s ….. drank another glass of cocktail.”

The Balance and Columbian Repository, of hudson, New York :

“Cocktail is a stimulating liquor, compound of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters- it is vulgarly called bittered sling, and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that is fuddles the head”.

Puncheon (Barrel) :

The Punch word comes either from the Hindi word ‘panch’ meaning five, referring to the 5 ingredients, spirits, water, lemon juice, sugar, and spice or from the word puncheon of unknown origin, which is a type of barrier

East India Company in the early 17th century of locally grown grain and desire for an alternative to brandy imported from the rival, France, the tax on the distillation of grain was reduced and the production of local.

This led to the Gin craze of the 18th century and much public outcry and worry, but it may also have fostered the development of cocktails, what with all the cheaply available so in a sense, British colonialism and foreign policy may be the real foundation for this but this still doesn’t settle the question of who invented the cocktail

Let us take the origin of the word itself :

The Cocktail word seems to contain the elements cock, as in a rooster and tail but how?

However, the answer may lie in Colonial America that the ingredients were kept in a rooster-shaped container.

In his 1821 novel The Spy, James Fenimore Cooper, the iconically American novelist who is most famous for writing The Last of the Mohicans, assigns the creation of the cocktail.

Betty Flanagan, a lively tavern keeper may be a fictional character which I shared with you at the beginning of the article

It is also said that they served the drink to her customers garnished with the feather of her neighbor’s rooster she and her father had killed it earlier that day and of course, are almost too entertaining to believe

List of the best cocktail recipes :

Why is it called Cape Codder ?

It’s a popular summertime destination of the US States of Cape Cod, Massachusetts and is famous for growing cranberries

CAPE CODDER :

Preparation time : 15 minutes

The proportion of Ingredients :

• Vodka : 1 fluid ounces of vodka or 60 ml
• Cranberry : 2 fluid ounces of cranberry juice or 90 ml
• Ice cubes : 8 to 9 ice cubes
• Lemon : 1 lime cut into two wedges

You can use cocktail shaker OR

How to make Cape Codder :

• Bring one empty shaker and a cocktail jigger, put 1 ounces or 60 ml of Vodka in shaker
• Put 2 ounces of cranberry juice in the shaker with cocktail jigger (measuring cup)
• Give them a good shake like a pro
• Bring one empty highball glass and put 7 ice cubes
• Pour the mix in the highball glass on the ice
• Squeeze lemon on top of it
• Optional- You can add Black salt powder or Black pepper
• Cheers!

Why is it called Margarita ?

About Margarita its always been indecisiviness who invented this however one of the colorful claims of Mexican restaurant owner of Rancho La Gloria — Carlos (Danny) Herrera in 1938 created for gorgeous Ziegfeld showgirl Marjorie King who was allergic to many spirits, but not tequila

There are two different kind of Margaritas — Classic and Frozen version but regardless which ever you make always remember the ratio of 2 tequila and 1 Cointreau or triple sec and 1 lime juice

Classic Margarita

Preparation time : 15 minutes

The proportion of Ingredients :

• Tequila : 2 Ounce (OZ) of tequila or 60 ml (white or silver tequila)
• Lemon : 2 ounce (OZ) of lime juice
• Cointreau : 1 ounce (OZ) of cointreau (liqueur)
• Ice cubes : 5 to 6 ice cubes
• Agave syrup/Honey Syrup (Optional) : half ounce

How to make Classic Margarita :

• Bring one empty shaker, put 2 ounces or 60 ml of tequila in shaker measuring by cocktail jigger
• Put 2 ounces of lime juice in the shaker with cocktail jigger (measuring cup)
• Put 1 ounce of cointreau (liqueur)
• Put half ounce agave syrup/honey syrup (if you want it sweet little bit)
• Drop 5 to 6 ice cubes in the shaker and give it a shake like a pro
• Bring one empty margarita glass
• Take a lime wedge and run the lime around the margarita glass. Dip outer edges in the salt
• Pour the strained mix into your glass
• Place a lime wedge on the side of glass
• Cheers!

Frozen Margarita :

The proportion of Ingredients :

• Tequila : 4 ounce (OZ) of tequila or 60 ml (white or silver tequila)
• Lemon : 2 lemon (without peel or skin of the lemon)
• Cointreau : 1 ounce (OZ) of cointreau (liqueur)
• Ice cubes : 8 to 10 ice cubes
• Agave syrup/Honey Syrup (Optional) : 1 ounce (OZ)

How to make Margarita :

• Bring Grinder mixer, put 4 ounces or 120 ml of tequila in the juicer jar measuring by cocktail jigger
• Put 2 peeled or without skin lemon
• Put 2 ounce of cointreau (liqueur)
• Put 1 ounce agave syrup/honey syrup (here I guess you need it)
• Drop 8 to 10 ice cubes in the juicer and give it a round of spin (one round will do it)
• Bring one empty margarita glass
• Take a lime wedge and run the lime around the margarita glass. Dip outer edges in the salt
• Pour the mix into your glass
• Cheers!

I don’t want you to feel discontent again about a supposedly invented story so here is a an interesting story of the creator of Daiquiri cocktail

Why is it called Daiquiri ?

Jennings Cox was an American Engineer who was in Cuba at the time of the Spanish-American War.

In 1898 after Roosevelt’s victory at the battle of San Juan Hill the Americans started to exploit their iron-ore mines.

Cox and his teammates work in the Sierra Maestra mountains where the small town of Daiquiri lies.

They requested and received local rum and Bacardi Carta Blanca

One time while Cox was entertaining his American guest. Wary of straightly serving them rum he added lime and sugar. Some say that he noticed that some Cuban worker mixed Bacardi with coffee so he came up with a drink.

Daiquiri

Preparation time : 15 minutes

The proportion of Ingredients :

• White rum : 2 Ounce (OZ) of rum or 60 ml (white rum)
• Lemon : half ounce (OZ) of lime juice or 30 ml
• Ice cubes : 7 to 8 ice cubes
• Sugar Syrup : Less than half ounce (OZ) or 20 ml

How to make Daiquiri :

• Bring one coupe glass and put 2 to 3 ice cubes in it and keep aside to glass stuck chill
• Grab one empty shaker and a cocktail jigger, put 2 ounces or 60 ml of white rum in shaker
• Put half ounces of lemon juice in the shaker with cocktail jigger (measuring cup)
• Pour half ounces of sugar syrup
• Put 6 to 7 ice cubes
• Give them a good shake like a pro
• Strain the whole mixture in the glass
• Put the lime wheel in the glass
• Cheers!

Why is it called Black Russian ?

Black Russian cocktail was created in the late 1940s at The Hotel Metropole in Brussels in honor of Perle Mesta who was appointed as U.S Ambassador to Luxembourg.

Bartender Gustave Tops decided to make a signature drink for her, The Black Russian.

And The Cold War was just starting so this mysterious drink was appropriate for the time,

The Black Russian

The proportion of Ingredients :

• Vodka : 2 ounce (OZ) of vodka
• Kahlua : 2 ounce of Kahlua
• Ice cubes : 5 to 6 ice cubes
• Cherry : 1

How to make The Black Russian :

• Bring one Rock glass and fill it with ice cubes and keep aside to glass stuck chill
• Grab one empty shaker and a cocktail jigger, put 2 ounces or 60 ml of Kahlua in shaker
• Put 1 ounce of vodka in the shaker with cocktail jigger (measuring cup)
• Strain the whole mixture in the glass
• Give them a 10 seconds stir like a pro with a straw or stirrer stick
• Drop one cherry in it
• Cheers!

Kahlua :

It was introduced in 1936. It is a coffee-flavored liqueur containing rum, sugar, vanilla bean, and Arabic coffee at 20% by volume

It takes 7 years to produce a bottle of Kahlua. The word Kahlua(Kah-loo-ah) has ties to ancient Arabic languages. It is said to be slang for coffee in the 1930s.

The White Russian

This drink also received its popularity after the movie “The Big Lebowski”

The proportion of Ingredients :

• Vodka : 2 ounce (OZ)
• Kahlua : 2 ounce
• Cream/Milk : 1 ounce
• Ice cubes : 5 to 6 ice cubes
• Cherry : 1

How to make The Black Russian :

• Bring one Rock glass and fill it with ice cubes and keep aside to glass stuck chill
• Grab one empty shaker and a cocktail jigger, put 2 ounces or 60 ml of Kahlua in shaker
• Put 1 ounce of vodka in the shaker with cocktail jigger (measuring cup)
• Strain the whole mixture in the glass
• Layer cream/milk on top of it
• Give them a 10 seconds stir like a pro with a straw or stirrer stick
• Drop one cherry in it
• Cheers!

Why is it called Lemon Drop Martini ?

Norman Jay Hobdy invented Lemon Drop in the 1970s, the owner and proprietor of Henry Africa’s bar in San Francisco. It was most likely named after lemon drop candy

Lemon Drop Martini

Preparation time : 15 minutes

The proportion of Ingredients :

• Vodka : 1.5 Ounce (OZ) of vodka or 45 ml
• Cointreau : 1.5 ounce (OZ) or 50 ml of cointreau (liqueur)
• Fresh Lemon Juice : 1 ounce (OZ) or 30 ml of fresh lime juice
• Ice cubes : 5 to 6 ice cubes
• Sugar Syrup : 1 ounce (OZ)

Why is it called Mojito ?

There are a couple of theories behind mojito although some are interesting as well, one is about local South American Indians, the second one with ‘Sir Francis Drake’ and drink was called ‘El Draque’, the third one is about African slaves who worked in Cuban sugar cane fields during the 19th century

But after so many theories only one name holds it which relates to ‘mojo’ a Cuban Fresh Mint Lime seasoning made from Lemon and the place is called Havana, Cuba

Mojito

The proportion of Ingredients:

• Mint: 10 fresh leaf
• Lime: 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
• Sweetener: 3 tablespoons white sugar or honey simple syrup
• Ice cubes: 4 to 5 or handfuls of crushed ice cubes
• Rum: 2 fluid ounces white rum
• Club soda: half cup

How to make a mojito:

• Bring one empty highball or tumbler glass
• Put 5 fresh mint leaves and one wedge of lime and lightly muddle it with a wooden muddle, but try to avoid too much muddling of fresh mint
• Add 4 to 5 ice cubes or handful crushed ice, 3 tablespoons sugar, and rum
• Give it a mix like a pro with stirrer stick
• Add half a cup of club soda
• Top it with 2 to 3 mint leaves and a lemon wheel
• Cheers!

Different Cocktail Glasses :

I will keep writing more about new cocktail recipes and different food recipes in my article.

I am sure to some limit this article helped you to make new cocktails with an interesting short history behind it

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