Mixed Drinks: From Antiquity to Today, pt.1

No matter how incredible of a mixologist you think you are, without a solid grasp of the basics you can’t put together a decent cocktail menu, wow a guest with your improvisation skills, or even truly call yourself a professional (or an imbiber – same thing here).

We’ve counted around 50 different drink formulas in total – way too many to go through all of them. Instead, we’ll focus on the most important ones. For beginners, it’s a great foundation. For seasoned bartenders, it’s a good refresher.

Glossary – Understanding the Formula Terms

• Spirit — the base alcoholic component (e.g., gin, rum, whisky, cognac).
• Soft — low-ABV or non-alcoholic liquid (e.g., wine, beer, tea, juice).
• Filler — the main volume extender, usually sparkling or still (e.g., soda, tonic, ginger beer).
• Sweet — any sweetening element (e.g., sugar syrup, liqueur, honey).
• Sour — acidic component balancing sweetness (e.g., lemon juice, lime juice, verjus).
• Spice — aromatic or bitter element (e.g., bitters, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom).
• Herb — fresh herbs or leaves for flavour (e.g., mint, basil, rosemary).
• Creamy — dairy or dairy-like addition (e.g., cream, milk, coconut cream).
• Egg white / yolk — for texture, foam, richness.
• Ice type — important in balance & dilution (cubed, crushed, shaved).

Antiquity (up to the mid-17th century)

Let’s start, as tradition demands, with the really old days – when distillation was used purely for medicine, and spirits rarely made an appearance in mixed drinks. If you go back even further, alcohol itself was a ritual drink – but you already knew that.

From this rather limited era, we can pull out three key formulas:

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The Archaic Period – The Age of Punch (mid-17th to late 18th century)

At the heart of this era is the punch formula, which we’ve covered in detail before. This is also when an explosion of drink categories appeared – many of which bartenders still use today. The gradual rise of spirits as a staple of leisure certainly helped.

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Baroque – The Cocktail Era (late 18th to mid-19th century)

We call this “the Cocktail Era” for a reason. Alongside rapid progress in science and technology, we gained the cocktail formula itself. Around this time, Jacob Schweppe invented the first non-alcoholic carbonated drink, and in 1850 John Gorrie presented the first ice machine. A life-changing period for us all.

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The Golden Age (late 19th to early 20th century)

The era of the first cars, expanding railroads, and so much more. We’ll start the clock at 1862 – the year Jerry Thomas published the first cocktail guide, for which we still thank him today.

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Prohibition – The Dark Times (first half of the 20th century)

This period deserves its own article. In short – drinking became officially illegal, American bartenders migrated to Europe and South America, and back home more and more speakeasies opened. Tomato soup with a splash of vodka? Entirely possible. Alcohol was heavily disguised, and this was also when the first bartender unions began to appear – like the famous “El Club de Cantineros de la República de Cuba“, founded in 1924.

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The New Wave (mid-20th century)

The dark days ended, and the prodigal sons of the industry returned home – bringing with them what became known as tiki culture (helped by the invention of the blender in 1935). Home bartending grew in popularity, and people started traveling the world more.

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After that came another downturn, when mixed drink culture suffered from the rise of rave parties, soft drugs (debatable), and cheap mixed drinks. But that’s a story for another day. In our next article, we’ll break down one category from each of these periods in detail.

Thanks for reading, our dear geeks.

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