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
Pink Lady (cocktail) and sometimes lemon juice is added as well. Usually the ingredients for any of the versions are shaken over ice and after straining it into a glass the cocktail might be garnished with a cherry. The exact origin of the Pink Lady is not known for sure. Occasionally its invention is attributed to the interior architect and prominent society figure Elsie de Wolfe (1865-1950), but the recipe associated with her nevertheless clearly differs from the common recipes for the Pink Lady. The name of the cocktail itself is sometimes said to be taken from the 1911 Broadway musical by Ivan