Alcoholic mixed drink, the origin of whose name (cock's tail) is the subject of a number of different versions. The best-known version is derived from cockfighting, which was popular in the south of the USA in the mid-19th century. The tail feathers of the losing rooster were torn off and given to the owner of the winner. The victory and the trophy won were then sealed with a drink "on the cock's tail". Later, the drink was simply called a cocktail. A second version dates back to the US War of Independence in 1777, when Betsy Flanagan, a pub landlady in New England, favoured entertaining rebel soldiers. One evening, she mixed a drink of fruit juice and rum, which she decorated with a feather. This had previously been the centrepiece of a British soldier's cockerel. A young French rebel officer honoured the composition with the words: Vive le coq's tail! (Long live the cockerel's tail).
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Egon Mark
Diplom-Sommelier, Weinakademiker und Weinberater, Volders (Österreich)