Cocktails were consumed in the morning to cure hangovers

The oldest written use of the word cocktail in connection with a drink appears on March 20, 1798, in the London newspaper Morning Post and Gazetteer. In the first half of the 19th century, these beverages were consumed in the morning for their stimulating and restorative properties. They were then particularly popular with marginalized or delinquent populations, as reported by historians David Wondrich and Ted Haigh.