What, exactly, is a cocktail? There's much speculation about the origin of the term and the drink, but I'm not going to delve into that here (for a good discussion, see the book Straight Up or On the Rocks by William Grimes.) In the second section I will give a general description of what constitutes a cocktail and discuss the structure of various types, but that can wait.
Whatever the definition, though, the cocktail was for most of its history a uniquely American phenomenon. It survived Prohibition (which actually served to stimulate the creativity of the drinkers of the day in constructing new cocktails) and the counterculture of the 60's. Now, with the recent resurgence of interest in cocktails, both old and new, many people are being introduced to them for the first time.
It's not always a smooth introduction. The sheer number of drinks, the intriguing but not always descriptive names, and the variety of ingredients combine to make the world of cocktails mystifying and impenetrable to many.
But that needn't be the case. Yes, it's true that there are way too many cocktails out there to sample in one healthy liver's lifetime, but take it from me, you can ignore most of them. There is no reason to drink or even taste a Sex on the Beach or a Slippery Nipple (a good rule of thumb: if the name is something that a 21-year-old girl thinks is racy, chances are it's not a very good drink).
What follows will, I hope, give you a foundation to begin making your own cocktails and some information that will make ordering cocktails less confusing. I'll start with the major ingredients, then turn to some theory and recipes, with a section of the logistics of throwing a cocktail party added for good measure.
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