Fac Potiones Excellens
Tipples → Mixed Drinks → Slings
Cocktails
Cocktails are bittered Slings. The terminus ante quem for the Cocktail is found in a publicatiaon from the year AD 1803.
The Cocktail is the best form of Sling for moderating the fumatic harshness of spirits. This is due to the olfactory action of bitters.
The Cocktail became so famous that overuse of the word ad absurdum and finally ad inane was probably inevitable.
Most drinks called "cocktail" today are not. However, true cocktails are still quite popular. They include the Old-fashioned Whiskey Cocktail, the Manhattan Cocktail, the so-called "Negroni" Cocktail, et cetera.
Plain Cocktails are sweetened with plain, white sugar, or with simple syrup made of it and water.
Fancy Cocktails are sweetened, at least in part, by ingredients that have both sweetness, and other flavors.