text: A cocktail is a style of mixed drink. A cocktail usually contains one or more types of liquor and flavourings, usually one or more of a liqueur, fruit, sauce, honey, milk or cream, spices, etc. The cocktail became popular during Prohibition in the United States primarily to mask the taste of bootlegged alcohol, the bartenders at a speakeasy would mix it with other ingredients, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.