reddit

“
A cocktail is a style of
mixed drink. However, not all mixed drinks are cocktails. A cocktail
usually contains one or more types of liquor and flavorings and
one or more liqueurs, fruit juices, sauces, honey, milk,
cream or spices, etc. The cocktail became popular with Prohibition in
the United States. During Prohibition the art of mixing drinks became
more and more important to mask the taste of bootlegged alcohol. The bartenders
at a speakeasy would mix it with other ingredients, both alcoholic and
non-alcoholic. After the repeal of Prohibition, the skills developed in illegal
bars became widespread and heralded the golden era of the cocktail, the 1930s.
One of the oldest known cocktails, the Cognac-based Sazerac, dates from
1850s New Orleans, as many as 70 years prior to Prohibition. Until the 1970s, cocktails were
made predominantly with gin, whiskey or rum, and less
commonly vodka. From the 1970s on, the popularity of vodka increased
dramatically, and by the 1980s it was the predominant base for mixed drinks.
Many cocktails traditionally made with gin, such as the gimlet, or the martini,
may now be served by default with vodka.
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