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I stumbled onto something of interest I want to share with you. The
cocktail has an enduring and cherished place in American entertainment
and social life. What's a party in America without a cocktail? How
could you celebrate New Years Eve without one? Sales will no doubt
sore in the upcoming roll-over celebration from 99 to 2000. If you
have a place of some responsibility in business, marketing, fraternal
organizations or if you attend school, family or military reunions or
receptions 96 you have probably been offered a cocktail. Perhaps some
who are reading this have accepted the offer, and consider their
partaking as socially necessary, physically harmless and spiritually
innocent. H.L. Mencken once observed, the cocktail to multitudes of
foreigners, seems to be the greatest of all contributions of the
American way of life to the salvation of humanity, but there remains a
good deal of uncertainty about the etymology of its name and even some
doubt the thing itself is of American origin. Mencken documented seven
distinct stories about the origin of the cocktail.
The first is that it is derived from the French coquetier, or egg-cup.
According to this story, the cocktail was invented in New Orleans,
circa 1795, by Antoine AmE9dE9e Peychaud, an apothecary from Santo
Domingo. Peychaud, who is famous as the inventor Peychaud bitters, held
social gatherings for fellow Masons at his pharmacy at 437 rue Royale.
He would serve brandy toddies to which he would add his own mixture of
bitters and would serve in an egg-cup. The drink acquired the name of
the cup, but English speaking guests would call it a cocktay, which
eventually became the cocktail. The specificity of the details and
Peychaud's renown as a mixologist lend credence to this explanation,
but there is no definite evidence to support it.
The second explanation is one that does not favor an American origin.
In this one, the word derives from the French coquetel, a drink known
in the Bordeaux region for several centuries. The drink, and its name,
were introduced to America by French officers during the American
Revolution.
Another is that it is derived from cock-ale, a drink popular in England
in the 17th and 18th centuries. To a cask of new ale was added a sack
containing an old rooster, mashed to a pulp, raisins, mace, and cloves,
and the mixture was allowed to infuse for a week or so.
The fourth explanation given by Mencken is that it comes from
cock-bread-ale, a mixture of stale bread, ale, and bitters that was fed
to fighting cocks, and often taken by their handlers as well.
The fifth is that it is so called because it is a drink that will "cock
your tail." Robert Hess wrote of this: A "cocktailed horse" is one
whose tail has been bobbed, giving it a jaunty and flamboyant look. It
seems reasonable that the "cocktail" took its name from the drink's
alcoholic wallop, sufficient to "cock the tail" (or "knock the socks
off") of an unwary patron.
The sixth story is that it comes from cocktailings. The dregs of
various casks would be drained out of the cocks, or valves, mixed
together and sold as a cheap drink.
Mencken's final explanation is that it came from the practice of
toasting the victor in a cockfight. Into the drinks would be inserted a
number of feathers corresponding to the number of feathers left in the
cock's tail. Any of these explanations sound like something Christians
would want to be part of?
The earliest known written reference to the term "cocktail" as a drink
based on spirits with other spirits and/or other additives goes back to
an early American magazine called "The Balance", published in May 1806.
"Cocktail 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"
Well, regardless of which account deserves credence, it seems
reasonable to conclude that the cocktail has an origin far lower than
its contemporary eminence. And what does the Bible say that bears upon
this practice?
"Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink arouses brawling, and whoever is
led astray by it is not wise, (Prov. 20:1). Also: Also wisdom and instruction and understanding. The father of the
righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in
the cup, When it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like a seek another drink?" (Prov. 23:20-35). {See also 1 Pet. 4:3}.
- - Warren E. Berkley
