A cocktail is a kind of mixed drink. Usually, it is made with alcoholic drinks such as vodka, gin or rum. Since such spirits do not have much taste of their own (at around 40% alcohol), other ingredients are added. Common ingredients are fruits, fruit juice, sugar, crushed ice, and ice cubes. If the cocktail is served in a bar or nightclub, it is often garnished with a piece of fruit, for example, a gin and tonic could be garnished with lemon, a Piña Colada with pineapple and a cherry.

Most cocktails were invented in the late 19th or early 20th centuries. People began drinking a lot of cocktails in the United States in the 1920s due to Prohibition. Around that time, cocktails from Cuba, such as the mojito, became popular around the world.