The Synonym for Cocktail is Mixed Drink

Cocktail vs. mixed drink, what's the difference? I'll cut right to the chase; I can't find much of a variance. Investigation suggests them both to be one in the same. It seems that "cocktail" was an old school, back in the day, description for what is now called the "mixed drink". I did find somewhat of a change. Up until the 1970's, cocktails were made with gin, whiskey, or rum. By the 80's vodka's popularity increased which had not been part of the cocktail culture. Vodka is now a base for mixed drinks for cocktails that were traditionally made with gin.

Traditional Martini
1 ½ oz Gin
¾ oz Dry Vermouth with ice cubes in mixing glass.
Stain into a glass. Serve with an olive.

Vodkatini
2 oz Vodka
1 tsp Dry Vermouth
1 lemon twist or Cocktail Olive

In a mixing glass, half filled with ice cubes,
Combine the vodka and vermouth. Stir well,
Strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with
the lemon twist or the olive.

A cocktail defined is a drink consisting of alcohol and juice or mixers. A mixed drink is a mix of liquids containing distilled alcohol, ice and sometimes liqueur, fruit, sauce, honey, milk or cream. The synonym for cocktail is mixed drink.

Since the mixed drink comes from the origin of the cocktail, the following are some facts and theories of where the word cocktail came from. The first recorded use of the name cocktail was in 1806. It is believed to be of American origin. One theory is that bartenders used to drain the dregs off all the barrels and mix them together. They would sell their jumble at a discounted price. "Cock" is another name for spigot, and "tailings" referred to that last bit of alcohol. Put them together and "cocktail" was born. Another theory suggested that leftover drinks were dumped into a ceramic container shaped like a rooster. You could get a cheap drink from a tap set in the tail of the rooster and hence again we have a "cocktail." The last theory is the most interesting of all. One of the ingredients is a dead rooster. This drink is still made today at a Boston beer company. Apparently, it was whipped up out of 12 gallons of beer. The 1500's cock-ale recipe is as follows:

Take 10 gallons of ale and a large cock, flay him and stamp him in a stone mortar until his bones are broken, (don't forget to gut him when you flay him). Then, put the cock into a two quart sack, then put to it, five pounds of raisins-stoned, some blades of mace, and a few cloves. Put all these into a canvas bag, put the bag and the ale together in a vessel. In a week or nine days bottle it up, fill the bottle just above the neck and give it the same time to ripen as other ale. ……........................What a thirst quencher………..bottoms up!