Where did the word “cocktail” come from? Have you ever wondered while supping and sipping or even just sipping? The answer is that no one really knows for sure, but there is a persistent urban legend about it dating back to 1779 that is worth recounting. Betsy Flanagan was an innkeeper near Yorktown and her husband was killed in the American Revolution. Many of her patrons were American and French soldiers.
The inn was next door to a farm that was owned by an Englishman. In an effort to boost war morale, Betsy promised her customers a feast of roasted chicken that she planned to steal from her English neighbor. No one believed her until one night she did it. When the meal was over, Betsy moved her guests to the bar, where she served drinks decorated with the tail-feathers from the Tory chickens amid calls for “more cocktails”.
Whether or not this really happened is anyone’s guess, but the origins of the cocktail party as we know it today are a bit less clouded (despite the liquor). The Prohibition Act of 1919 is mainly responsible for driving American men and women out of bars and into other peoples’ living rooms. The cocktail party was an act of defiance against Prohibition restrictions and to attend a cocktail party became the bold, daring, illegal and very naughty thing to do.
The air of excitement generated about these early parties emanated from the feeling that one was breaking the law to attend them (and one was). It could also be a dangerous adventure depending on the bootlegger involved. One or two swigs could make one pleasantly giddy or violently ill.
So show some respect for your next cocktail party. Clink glasses and try not to break any. Avoid thinking about that old medieval toast about eating, drinking, being merry and dying.
Happy cocktail party!
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