Cocktail revival in Valencia

In Paris, New York, London and a good number of the most influential cities of our time: cocktails are the new champagne. There are many stories that illustrate the creation of these elaborate drinks, for instance some say they go back to the 18th century invention of a Colonel Carter in Virginia, US. At the time, the word ‘cock’ meant a tap and ‘tail’ referred to the final, dirty drops of water that dripped from it. The story goes that Sir Carter was once given a drink with these last drops and, outraged, climbed onto the bar and declared he would from here on in prepare his own ‘cock tails’, and thus mixed the first cocktail in history. Others say the cocktail comes from Betsy, an English inn owner who disliked her chicken farmer neighbour, and one night prepared a roasted chicken stolen from the said neighbour for her customers, later offering them a mixed drink decorated with a feather from the ‘cock’s tail’. Some also say the ‘cock tail’ was a container shaped like a rooster in which bartenders put leftover drinks, which when mixed together were offered to diligent fellows.

The cocktail has long been a star element of parties and spread worldwide after the invention of the Martini in 1862. The first Margarita is said to originate from Margarita Sames in 1948, who threw an elaborate party with her friends, organising a mixed drink contest; her concoction of tequila, orange liquer and lime was voted top and soon became the most famous cocktail in the world. Or was it that young Mexican showgirl, Marjorie (Margarita in Spanish), allergic to all alcohol except for tequila, who in 1931 ordered “something other than a tequila shot,” and was served the first frozen Margarita?

The mystery will probably remain, however, in today’s world cocktails are widely (and wildly) developed, and despite a slump in the 90s are all the rage again. Whether a trendy cocktail with your sophisticated friends, an after-work stop on the way home or even a cocktail during a  lunch with important clients, it has become almost passé to order a simple glass of wine. In books as well as on the screen, nothing quite lives up to the elegance of cocktail hour.

This has not been missed in Valencia. In the 1980s, the Spanish city was full of intimate cocktail joints but the fashion slowly died and so did the bars. Nevertheless, a few survivors are coming back with a vengeance, such as, for example, El Aquarium. Located in the heart of the city, on one of its main boulevards, El Aquarium’s elegant clientele sip on the best Dry Martinis in Valencia while enjoying the bar’s quirky décor – both waiters and surroundings are reminiscent of a 1920s cruise ship. Or Susos cocktail lounge, which has every kind of cocktail imaginable, including (oh the horror)…beer. The funky jazz tunes mixed with fruity drinks and a sexy ambiance are everything a young, hip socialite should be looking for.

Image credit: Nik Frey

New post on at Wednesday, 14 October, 2009, 6:55 am and is archived in Food and drink, Lifestyle. Subscribe to answers with RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.