A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, shrubs, and bitters. Cocktails vary widely across regions of the world, and many websites publish both original recipes and their own interpretations of older and more famous cocktails.
The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. This "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically served in a Collins glass over ice with a cherry garnish. A non-alcoholic "Collins mix" mixer is produced, enjoyed by some as a soft drink.
The Long Island iced tea, or Long Island ice tea, is an IBA official cocktail, typically made with vodka, tequila, light rum, triple sec, gin, and a splash of cola. Despite its name, the cocktail does not typically contain iced tea, but is named for having the same amber hue as iced tea.
A margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice. Some margarita recipes include simple syrup as well and are often served with salt on the rim of the glass. Margaritas can be served either shaken with ice, without ice, or blended with ice. Most bars serve margaritas in a stepped-diameter variant of a cocktail glass or champagne coupe called a margarita glass. The margarita is one of the world's most popular cocktails and the most popular tequila-based cocktail.
Smirnoff is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries, and manufactured locally in some, as in Illinois in the United States.
A Caesar is a cocktail created and consumed primarily in Canada. It typically contains vodka, Clamato, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, and is served with ice in a large, celery salt-rimmed glass, typically garnished with a stalk of celery and wedge of lime. What distinguishes it from a Bloody Mary is the inclusion of clam broth. The cocktail may also be contrasted with the Michelada, which has similar flavouring ingredients but uses beer instead of vodka. Festivals dedicated to the cocktail are held in many cities, with the largest in Calgary. The first liquor store dedicated to the Caesar opened on July 1, 2023 in Calgary, Alberta.
Flavored liquors are liquors that have added flavoring and, in some cases, a small amount of added sugar. They are distinct from liqueurs in that liqueurs have a high sugar content and may also contain glycerine.
A shooter, or shot, is a small serving of spirits or a mixed drink, typically consumed quickly, often in a single gulp. It is common to serve a shooter as a side to a larger drink.
A beer cocktail is a cocktail that is made by mixing beer with other ingredients or another style of beer. In this type of cocktail, the primary ingredient is usually beer.
The Pimm's cup is a cocktail that is popular in England, in the United Kingdom. It is one of numerous fruit cups, a type of cocktail with gin, a soft drink, and fruit. Its primary spirit is Pimm's No. 1 Cup, a gin-based beverage flavoured with fruits and spices invented around 1823 as a health drink.
A "fizz" is a mixed drink variation on the older sours family of cocktail. Its defining features are an acidic juice and carbonated water. It typically includes gin or rum as its alcoholic ingredient.
A dark 'n' stormy is a highball cocktail made with dark rum and ginger beer served over ice and garnished with a slice of lime. Lime juice and simple syrup are also frequently added. This drink is very similar to the Moscow mule except that the Dark 'n' Stormy has dark rum instead of vodka. The original Dark 'n' Stormy was made with Gosling Black Seal rum and Barritt's Ginger Beer, but after the partnership between the two failed and the companies parted ways, Gosling Brothers created its own ginger beer.
Bols is a brand name used by Lucas Bols, a Dutch distiller of alcoholic beverages. The brand line consists of vodkas, gins, genevers, advocaats and liqueurs. Bols has been extant since 1575, and claims to be the oldest distillery brand in the world. The brand is now distributed in 110 countries, and the liqueur line has over 30 different flavors. As the result of an earlier divestiture, in Eastern Europe the Bols brand is owned by Maspex.
A woo woo is an alcoholic beverage made of vodka, peach schnapps, and cranberry juice. It is typically served as a cocktail in a highball glass or can be served as a shot. It can also be served in a rocks glass. The ingredients are usually shaken together with ice or stirred as preferred. A lime wedge is used as a garnish.
A Bloody Mary is a cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice, and other spices and flavorings including Worcestershire sauce, hot sauces, garlic, herbs, horseradish, celery, olives, pickled vegetables, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, lime juice and celery salt. Some versions of the drink, such as the "surf 'n turf" Bloody Mary, include shrimp and bacon as garnishes. In the United States, it is usually consumed in the morning or early afternoon, and is popular as a hangover cure.
Heublein Inc. was an American producer and distributor of alcoholic beverages and food throughout the 20th century. During the 1960s and 1970s its stock was regarded as one of the most stable financial investments, earning it inclusion in the Nifty Fifty.
A buck is a cocktail that is made with ginger ale or ginger beer, citrus juice, and any of a number of base liquors. Buck cocktails are sometimes called "mules" due to the popularity of a vodka buck that is known as a Moscow mule.
A porchcrawler, also known as a porchclimb, is a mixed drink made primarily of beer, a liquor, and a sweetening agent. The most common liquors for the drink are vodka, gin, rum or whiskey. The final product is generally a highly-alcoholic, carbonated punch with a fruity taste and a light pink or yellow color. It is typically served from a large cooler of ice and is especially popular with North American college students.
