Cocktails: It's all in the mix

When I mentioned to friends that I was writing a feature on cocktails for the July Spotlight, I had to listen to some predictable comments: "Oh, I bet you'll have to work hard writing that one," and "If you're looking for someone to do the research, I'd be happy to help you with the testing."

The initial preparation, though, was not done, as most of my friends had anticipated, in a bar, but using a number of books on the history of cocktails. That may sound a bit dull, but it wasn't at all. Mixologist: The Journal of the American Cocktail, for example, is a wonderful collection of essays on different types of mixed drinks and their ingredients. The book, lying on my desk as I write now, is still bulging with colourful post-it notes marking all the interesting historical facts and anecdotes that I thought would be useful and entertaining to include.

Here's one that, for reasons of space, could not be included in the feature. In an essay on the history of gin, Anistatia Miller tells us how an early form of gin developed in Holland was given to British soldiers when they fought alongside the Dutch during the Dutch War of Independence (1507-1609). This gave rise to the expression "Dutch courage", which describes the kind of bravery produced by drinking alcohol.

Once I'd worked my way through the literature on cocktails, it was down to testing. Unfortunately, an evening of tasting margaritas put me completely out of action and I had to round off my investigations with some mocktails taken lying down at home on the sofa.

Find out more about the history and ingredients of classic cocktails in our Food feature in the July Spotlight. Download a PDF of the first two pages of the article and find out what other exciting topics we have for you this month.