The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks dinner or mid-afternoon drinks accompanying cake or chocolate cookies, but they are anathema as a "cocktail" before a large meal. In terms of IBA Official Cocktails, Embury describes classic Before-Dinner Cocktails, which whet the appetite, not other categories. Embury breaks all cocktail ingredients down into three categories: The base is the principal ingredient of the cocktail. It is typically a single spirit such as rum, gin, or whiskey, and typically makes up 75 percent or more of the total volume of the cocktail before icing. The modifying agent is the ingredient that gives the cocktail its character. Its function is
Grasshopper (cocktail) Grasshopper (cocktail) A Grasshopper is a sweet, mint-flavored, after-dinner drink. The name of the drink derives from its green color, which comes from crème de menthe. The drink reputedly originated at Tujague's, a bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana in 1918, and was invented by its owner, Philip Guichet. The drink gained popularity during the 1950s and 1960s throughout the American South. A typical Grasshopper cocktail consists of equal parts green crème de menthe, white crème de cacao, and cream shaken with ice and strained into a chilled cocktail glass. A "Vodka" or "Flying" Grasshopper replaces the