See quotation, 1806.
1806. Cock tail, then, is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters—it is vulgarly called bittered sling, and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head.—The Balance, May 13, p. 146/3. (Italics in the original.)
1809. They [Marylanders] lay claim to be the first inventors of those recondite beverages, cock-tail, stone-fence, and sherry-cobbler.—Washington Irving, ‘Knickerbockers,’ p. 241. (N.E.D.)
1861. On my way to the upper deck, I observed the bar was crowded by gentlemen engaged in consuming, or waiting for, cocktails or mint-juleps.—W. H. Russell, ‘My Diary, North and South,’ April 14.
