This Saturday is World Cocktail Day and the fact it falls, conveniently, at a weekend means that most people will have a day off to enjoy a tipple or two.
The designated day is a global celebration which apparently marks the precise date that the first definition of a cocktail was published. It was on May 13, 1806 that a New York paper, The Balance and Columbian Repository, described a cocktail as "a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters".
While that description applies to many classic cocktails, there are so many versions and twists on traditional recipes - not to mention entirely new creations - that a cocktail can be just about any mix of spirit and additions from fruit juice to syrups, even topped off with cream sparklers. What makes a top cocktail is always a matter of debate but there are some bars around Newcastle which are widely recognise as being masters of the art.
