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
Bloody Mary (cocktail) Virgin Mary, the Caesar, and the michelada. Fernand Petiot claimed to have invented the Bloody Mary in 1921, well before any of the later claims, according to his grand-daughter. He was working at the New York Bar in Paris at the time, which later became Harry's New York Bar, a frequent Paris hangout for Ernest Hemingway and other American migrants. The original cocktail is said to have been created on the spur-of-the-moment, according to the bar's own traditions, consisting only of vodka and tomato juice. Harry's Bar also claims to have created numerous other classic cocktails, including the White Lady