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
Toronto (cocktail) Embury, and in 1949 a recipe for the Toronto Cocktail was included in "Esquire's Handbook for Hosts". The Toronto Cocktail is a variation of the Old Fashioned, with the addition of Fernet-Branca. Variations of the cocktail substitute various rye whiskeys as the primary ingredient, such as Canadian whisky or Old Overholt. The Fernet Cocktail recipe by Vermeire specified of cognac or rye whisky, and gill of Fernet-Branca. The rye whisky complements the bitter Fernet-Branca and prevents it from dominating the cocktail. Sugar or simple syrup are used to reduce the cocktail's bitterness. It may be served in a cocktail glass