The art of mixology

All About Cocktails

(Updated on: Aug 12, 2025)

Familiarise yourself with the history of cocktails, tips that will help you make your cocktails look and taste fantastic, and recipes for some of the UK's favorite cocktails to try out and enjoy at home.

The History of Cocktails

All refined things began life in a slightly less polished form, and the vaguer, unpolished origins of cocktails go way back. It is thought that even ancient civilisations used to mix together various alcoholic concoctions for enjoyment during celebrations, combining the likes of beer, wine, and mead with honey, various spices, and many other mixers. In terms of the modern, pristine cocktails we know today, they are thought to have developed from classic British punch recipes that involved mixing spirits, fruit juice, and spices in large bowls. Spirits used to be made in a much less controlled manner compared to today, resulting in less palatable outcomes that benefitted from having sweet ingredients and spices added to improve their flavor.

The first recorded mention of the word 'cocktail' came in print in 1798 before, in 1806, The Balance and Columbian Repository of Hudson, New York, formally defined a cocktail as a "stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters." If this description reminds you of an old fashioned, then you’d be right! The old fashioned cocktail was developed in the late 19th century at a time when many new cocktail recipes were being developed, such as the mint julep, the sazerac, and the Manhattan. This led to some customers requesting a cocktail made the ‘old fashioned way,’ which gave the renowned cocktail its name.

In the couple of centuries that have followed the first official mentions of cocktails, these mixed drinks have gone through various phases of evolution and trends. Some notable eras include:

  • The golden age of cocktails. This era took place in the late 19th century and 20th century and saw the rise of specialist mixologists and the invention of numerous classic cocktail recipes that remain revered today.
  • The tiki cocktail era. This era took emerged in the US in the 1930s and latest until around the 1970s. It was characterized by the rise of tropical-themed cocktails, such as the mai tai and the zombie.
  • The cocktail renaissance. The mid 1900s saw a decline in popularity of classic cocktail recipes in techniques, with simple, pre-mixed drinks gaining prominence. However, the back end of the century and beginning of the 21st century saw a revival for classic cocktails and craft spirits, helping the cocktail market to once again thrive.

Whether dramatic changes in cocktails will continue to prevail remains to be seen, but the emergence of new trends has certainly continued into modern times. The espresso martini was only invented in the 1980s and in just a few decades has become one of the most popular cocktails in the world alongside the likes of the old fashioned, the mojito, and the margarita. The Aperol spritz is another example, having only been developed in the early 2000s and already becoming an iconic summer beverage. There’s also the recent emergence of alcohol-free spirits to consider, causing mocktails and cocktails to merge and spilling over into the world of soft drinks, introducing them to a whole new audience.

Tips on Making the Best of Your Cocktails

If you’re taking part in some home mixology, you want to master making your cocktails look and taste the part. There are a few straightforward but crucial boxes to tick to ensure your cocktails get people talking for all the right reasons.

A bar counter with two SPIEGELAU Perfect Serve Collection glasses. The SOF glass is filled with an orange colored drink and an orange zest, the longdrink glass is filled with clear cocktail drink, ice cubes, rosemary and a lemon zest. In the background a hand, holding another filled SOF glass.<br/>

The taste

First is making sure your cocktail tantalizes your tastebuds. There is a near endless number of recipes out there to master, but if you are playing around with new, off-the-cuff recipes, it helps to know the base ingredients that make up many of our favorite cocktails. A reliable way of trying out cocktails while giving yourself a good chance of concocting something tasty is to master the following components that make up many of the world’s most famous cocktails:

  • an alcohol portion - usually a spirit, such as gin, vodka, rum, or whiskey.
  • a citrus juice - for example, lemon or lime juice. We recommend using fresh juice rather than bottled as it helps to deliver a better-quality cocktail.
  • a sweetener, such as syrup or granulated sugar.

Not all cocktails include this trio of ingredients, but many do. For example, a whiskey sour combines bourbon, lemon juice, and simple syrup, while a mojito consists of white rum, lime juice, and sugar before being topped with soda water. The ‘golden ratio’ for these ingredients to make a balanced, tasty cocktail is to include 2 parts spirit, 1 part sour, and 1 part sweet. From there, you can tweak your quantities to find a balance that best suits your preferences.

The cocktail glasses of the SPIEGELAU Perfect Serve Collection, all filled with specific cocktails. The Perfect Coupette glass on the left and the Perfect Cocktail glass on the right.

Presentation

Once you're a whizz at building your cocktails, the next step to making them stand out is presentation. For this, there are a few key factors to consider:

  • Use garnishes to your advantage. Garnishes can transform the look of a cocktail, turning it into something truly eye-catching. When selecting your garnish, always choose one that is appropriate for your drink, as the wrong garnish can negatively impact its flavor. Most cocktail recipes will state the correct garnish to use, but if one doesn’t, you can use the base ingredients in your drink as a guide for which garnish will work well with your cocktail. For example, if your cocktail uses lemon juice as its citrus base, using a slice of lemon as garnish is a safe option to go with.
  • Use the appropriate glass. Using the correct glass is essential for capturing the essence of a cocktail, as well as enhancing its flavor. We love a coupe glass, but we wouldn’t use one to serve an old fashioned, as this particular cocktail is meant to be served over ice and evolve as it dilutes. So, whenever you serve up a drink, confirm which vessel is best for it. The Spiegelau Perfect Serve Collection was designed with award-winning bar expert Stephan Hinz to provide an expertly crafted and sized glassware series with suitable glassware for accommodating any cocktail. 
  • Use high-quality crystal glassware. Just like how you can find lower and higher quality products for beer, wine, and spirit, you can elevate your cocktails by using a higher standard of drinking glass. Fine crystal glassware adds a touch of elegance and brilliance to a cocktail, helping it to sparkle in the light. Crystal glassware is also more durable than regular glass, making it a wise choice if you're looking for glassware that can stay at its best for longer. At Spiegelau, we make sure we make all our glasses from lead-free crystal to deliver elegant, functional, and durable glassware for any drinking occasion.
  • Make sure your glass is properly cleaned and polished. Even the slightest smudge mark can ruin your drink's visual appeal. Ensuring you properly clean and polish your cocktail glass using a clean microfibre polishing cloth before using will give it that unspoiled, pristine sparkle that will dazzle guests.

Once you've perfected making expertly crafted cocktails that look and taste sublime, you'll be set to show off and deliver that wow factor to your guests.

Irresistible cocktails you can enjoy at home


If you're putting on an evening or barbecue for guests, knowing recipes for some of the UK's favorite cocktails can be handy. We have a host of popular cocktail recipes on our website for you to try out that are perfect for enjoying from your Spiegelau Perfect Serve glasses:
A lady's hand holding the Spiegelau Perfect Serve Cocktail glass filled with a Martini.

The Martini

A classic cocktail that has been famous for over a century and further elevated by pop culture, this Martini recipe keeps things traditional with the classic gin and dry vermouth combination. Enjoy it from your Spiegelau Perfect Serve Cocktail Glass.

A lady's hand holding a Spiegelau Perfect Serve Collection S.O.F glass filled with an Old Fashioned cocktail.

The Old Fashioned

Another long-standing favorite of the cocktail world, the Old Fashioned delivers a bitter experience to start and sweetens as you sip and your drink dilutes. Enjoy it from your Spiegelau Perfect Serve D.O.F Glass.
A woman's hand holding the Spiegelau Perfect Serve Collection Coupette filled with a Margarita.

The Margarita

Firmly established as one of the most popular cocktails in the USA, the margarita combines tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and salt to create a perfectly balanced beverage. Enjoy it from your Spiegelau Perfect Serve Coupette Glass if you like it served up, or in a Spiegelau Perfect Serve D.O.F Glass if you prefer it served over ice.
A lady's hand squeezing a lime into the Spiegelau Perfect Serve DOF glass filled with a Capirinha cocktail.

The Caipirinha

Brazil's best - made from the Brazilian rum cahaça, plus lime juice and white cane sugar. Enjoy it from your Spiegelau Perfect Serve D.O.F Glass.
A man's hand holding the Spiegelau Perfect Serve Collection S.O.F glass filled with a Whisky Sour cocktail.

The Whiskey Sour

A simple yet show-stopping cocktail that only requires bourbon, lemon juice, and syrup, plus garnish. This version doesn't include an egg white, but one can be added into the mixing process using a shaker instead of a mixing glass to add extra smoothness to your Whiskey Sour. Enjoy it from your Spiegelau Perfect Serve D.O.F Glass.
Man holding a Spiegelau Perfect Serve Collection Small Long Drink glass filled with an Americano cocktail.

The Americano

This is the classic cocktail from which the Negroni developed. Topped with soda water, this cocktail delivers an extra bit of refreshment compared to its gin-filled sibling. Enjoy it from a Spiegelau Perfect Serve Long Drink.
A hand holding a bar spoon, stirring a Negroni cocktail in the Spiegelau Perfect Serve Collection Large Mixing glass.

The Negroni

A cocktail with a bitter kick, the Negroni is perfect for anyone who wants to add a little extra oomph to their Americano. Enjoy it from your Spiegelau Perfect Serve D.O.F Glass.

With all that, you should have all the know-how you need to cement yourself as the cocktail expert among your friendship group.

DEVELOPED WITH BARTENDER STEPHAN HINZ

THE SPIEGELAU PERFECT SERVE COLLECTION