The term "cocktail" is said to have originated in Mexico. According to a widely accepted story, British naval crews used to gather to fortify themselves at a favorite tavern in Campeche. While most liquors were drunk straight, at times the English preferred their tot of rum mixed with other ingredients, which where then stirred with a small wooden spoon. One day an enterprising waiter, being out of one of these spoons, used pieces of thin, smooth roots of a plant known as "tail of the cock" because of its peculiar shape. The name "cock's tail" caught on and by the end of World War I these drinks were the rage of England, Europe and the U.S. nightclub set.
