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Post by jeremysgirl on Jun 20, 2022 19:00:28 GMT
I call it a cocktail if it’s a mixed drink made by a bartender, or a complicated mixed drink made at home. I also use the term drink, as in “I need a drink” but then I might have a cocktail. If I’m making something simple like a gin and tonic I would be more likely to call it by its name. ETA I wouldn’t call all alcohol a cocktail. Wine is wine, shots are shots, a mixed drink is a cocktail. This.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jun 20, 2022 20:00:22 GMT
I use cocktail more to set an expectation than to describe a drink. We might invite people in for a 'cocktail party' which means shorter evening gathering with hors d'oeuvres and alcohol. Or I'll invite people for dinner and say, "Dinner will be served at 7:00 pm, but come early for cocktails."
Otherwise, I use the term drinks as others have already described. It encompasses all the possible choices both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
Oh, and I have used 'cocktail' to describe the dress code for an event as well. Again, another use of it to set an expectation.
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QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
Jun 26, 2014 0:29:24 GMT
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on Jun 20, 2022 20:03:29 GMT
I had a boss that referred to them as beverages. "What a long day! I'm ready for a beverage!"
I don't really call them anything because neither DH nor I drink them.
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oh yvonne
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,062
Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on Jun 20, 2022 20:04:47 GMT
I don't recall ever using the word. Unless its in reference to a cocktail hour at an event.
Most of the times it's a drink.
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,168
Jun 26, 2014 8:22:26 GMT
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Post by Gennifer on Jun 20, 2022 20:04:47 GMT
Here in Utah, “drinks” refers to non-alcoholic just as much as it is does alcoholic… like we were told to bring our own drinks to a family party yesterday, but my mom most definitely did not mean alcohol. 😜
I usually say “let’s do shots” or “let’s have a drink,” but I did host a Cocktail Night party a month or two ago, so I guess I use that term, too. 🍸🥂
I agree, though… I wouldn’t refer to all alcoholic beverages as cocktails, only mixed ones.
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maryannscraps
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,791
Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on Jun 20, 2022 20:40:51 GMT
We say drink in general and cocktail for fancy drinks. And even then I’ll call it a fancy cocktail. Learning how to make some fancy cocktails entertained us during the early Covid times. I make an excellent pomegranate martini that starts with a fresh pomegranate.
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Post by bc2ca on Jun 20, 2022 21:22:49 GMT
I use "a drink" to generically mean any kind of alcoholic drink. Like, "Do you want to get together for drinks?" could be beer, wine, cider, mixed drinks, or whatever. I use "cocktail" for mixed drinks that are more than just an alcohol and a mixer (like a gin & tonic). That can encompass a huge variety of drinks. Cocktail is definitely a category of drinks just like beer or wine IME. I would be expect something fun and fancy if offered a cocktail.
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Post by voltagain on Jun 20, 2022 21:23:21 GMT
When someone asks me to go out for drinks I assume they mean anything from tea to liquor. Same with a waiter/waitress asking if I want a drink. I assume water is a valid choice. Honestly I don't have a generic term for asking someone if they want an alcoholic drink. At my house the options are water, tea or diet coke.
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Post by jemali on Jun 20, 2022 21:43:00 GMT
I usually say “drink”, once in a while “cocktail”, but never ever”libation”
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jun 20, 2022 21:58:20 GMT
I love the word libation. There are so many perfectly lovely descriptive words in the English language that have fallen out of common use.
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Post by 950nancy on Jun 20, 2022 22:04:49 GMT
We say drink and then people say a specific alcoholic drink like beer, margarita, or Truly's or water or whatever.
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milocat
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,570
Location: 55 degrees north in Alberta, Canada
Mar 18, 2015 4:10:31 GMT
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Post by milocat on Jun 20, 2022 22:15:16 GMT
Drinks covers it all, beer, wine, hard alcohol, White Claw style. If someone said do you want another drink or grab me a drink please, it would mean whatever they were drinking pop or water included. I'd look and if you had a beer in your hand I'd grab you a beer. If it's a party invite it would say drinks not cocktails.
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Post by supersoda on Jun 20, 2022 22:22:37 GMT
I use both. But when I want my husband to mix a drink for me I say “I need a ‘Charlie’ Cocktail.” [Insert his name for Charlie.] That’s pretty much whatever mixer we have on hand with vodka or rum.
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Post by mymindseyedpea on Jun 21, 2022 1:15:22 GMT
My first thought was a drink. I think it’s time to change that ☺️ At the grocery store we use the word liquor. A checker I know uses the word booze. My mom says tidily.
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Post by tampascrapper on Jun 21, 2022 1:33:47 GMT
I normally say “an adult beverage”
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Post by sillyrabbit on Jun 21, 2022 3:09:09 GMT
We call any cold beverage "a drink". We call any alcoholic beverage "a drank". I live in Kentucky...we talk funny. 😂
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Post by grammadee on Jun 21, 2022 3:33:37 GMT
So if we have guests in the evening: "Would you like a drink?" is offering alcohol. "What would you like to drink?" may mean tea, coffee, water, a soft drink.
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Post by pjaye on Jun 21, 2022 3:36:09 GMT
I use them both. If it's a girl's outing and we plan to drink fancy alcoholic drinks with little umbrellas in them...then I definitely call them cocktails. If we are going out to dinner and will drink wine or a mixed drink such as a G&T, then I say 'drinks' because they aren't as fancy as cocktails.
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milocat
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,570
Location: 55 degrees north in Alberta, Canada
Mar 18, 2015 4:10:31 GMT
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Post by milocat on Jun 21, 2022 3:57:07 GMT
So if we have guests in the evening: "Would you like a drink?" is offering alcohol. "What would you like to drink?" may mean tea, coffee, water, a soft drink. Oh yes that's it! A drink or to drink.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jun 21, 2022 4:44:59 GMT
More often than not I just call it a drink, although I don’t drink any type of alcohol anymore. DH will only rarely have a beer or a mixed drink like a gin and tonic or a Jack and Coke. We’re not fancy enough for anything more complicated than that.
Our neighbor at the cabin is about 15 years older than we are, and she will call any kind of mixed drink a cocktail. Happy hour is at 4:00 pm over there pretty much every day from June through October, LOL.
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Post by mollycoddle on Jun 21, 2022 10:17:19 GMT
Drink pretty much covers it for me. I seldom say-or hear-the word cocktail. I wonder how much that varies by region.
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joelise
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Jul 1, 2014 6:33:14 GMT
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Post by joelise on Jun 21, 2022 10:50:01 GMT
Drink to me is any liquid that you drink, tea, coffee, wine, water, beer etc. A cocktail is a mixed drink with several ingredients, usually served in a fancy glass with things floating in it! Cocktails are very popular in the UK at the minute.
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Post by gramasue on Jun 21, 2022 12:11:17 GMT
We call an alcoholic mixed drink a drink. A beer is a beer. Wine is a glass of wine. For anything else, we say 'would you like something to drink?' That would cover anything from tea to lemonade, or just water.
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