3 Surprising Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Cocktails’ In New York

This is crazy. The actual word 'cocktail' was first printed in May 13, 1806 in the edition of The Balance and Columbian Repository, a publication in Hudson, New York.

According to wikipedia:

"The first definition of cocktail known to be an alcoholic beverage appeared in the May 13, 1806 edition of The Balance and Columbian Repository, a publication in Hudson, New York in which an answer was provided to the question, "What is a cocktail?". Harry Croswell, the editor replied:

Cock-tail is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters—it is vulgarly called bittered sling, and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, in as much as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head. It is said, also to be of great use to a democratic candidate: because a person, having swallowed a glass of it, is ready to swallow any thing else.

It's rumored that the Saratoga Sunrise Cocktail originated at the Saratoga Race Track in the 1800's. It's now known as 'the signature' drink of The Saratoga Race Course and served at most of the area bars and restaurants. Of course they serve the mint julep too.

Here is the classic recipe for the classic Saratoga Sunrise Cocktail.

Jerry Thomas wrote the first drink book ever published in 1862. Among many of his nicknames was 'professor'. According to wikipedia his development of the "Martinez", which first appeared in the 1887 edition of his guide, has sometimes been viewed as a precursor to the modern martini.

Thomas was born in 1830 in Sackets Harbor, New York about 100 miles from Utica.