The origins of the word "cocktail" have been debated for years, but we know that the first written mention of "cocktail", at least as a beverage, appeared in The Farmers Cabinet in 1803. The first definition of a cocktail as an alcoholic beverage appeared three years later in The Balance and Columbian Repository, a Hudson, New York periodical. Traditionally, cocktail ingredients included spirits, sugar, water and bitters. In 1862 Jerry Thomas published a bartender's: guide called How to Mix Drinks; or, The Bon Vivant's Companion which included 10 cocktail recipes using bitters to differentiate from other drinks such as punches and cobblers. Cocktails continued to evolve and gain popularity throughout the 1900s, with the term eventually expanding to cover all mixed drinks. In 1917 the term "cocktail party" was coined by Mrs. Julius S. Walsh Jr. of St. Louis, Missouri. We are now enjoying a revival of cocktail culture through craft mixology, which elevates traditional cocktails with other novel ingredients. Mark and Andy’s bitters are the perfect companion to a well made craft cocktail.
