# When Did the "Cocktail Hour" Become a Part of American Life?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-cocktail-hour-become-a-part-of-american-life/539119>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [May 12, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-cocktail-hour-become-a-part-of-american-life/539119 "2010-05-12T00:07:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-cocktail-hour-become-a-part-of-american-life/539119/1 "2010-05-12T00:07:30Z")

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I recall (as a child) visiting my Grandparents-and it seemed that they ate dinner pretty late (about 7:00 PM. Before that, they would have a drink-usually a whiskey sour or martini. They had a big chrome cocktail shaker, and a set of matching cocktail glasses. I was always fascinated by the ritual of making the drinks-mix the liquors (from fascinating bottles with colorful labels), add fruit juices, sugar, etc, ice, then shake everything in the big cocktail shaker-then pour.  
When did this ritual become common?  
Looking at the old “Thin Man” movies (Powell and Myrna Loy), they always seemed to be quaffing cocktails-was this a common ritual in American homes?

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-cocktail-hour-become-a-part-of-american-life/539119/2 "2010-05-12T00:57:22Z")

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My WAG would be the 30s, after the repeal of prohibition . . . or perhaps the 20s, in speakeasies.  
It certainly had become quite common by the 50s.

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**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-cocktail-hour-become-a-part-of-american-life/539119/3 "2010-05-12T01:20:27Z")

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I think this is one old-fashioned thing that needs to make a comeback.

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**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-cocktail-hour-become-a-part-of-american-life/539119/4 "2010-05-12T01:41:18Z")

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> [@panache45](#):
>
> My WAG would be the 30s, after the repeal of prohibition . . . or perhaps the 20s, in speakeasies.  
> It certainly had become quite common by the 50s.

IIRC cocktails only became really popular in during Prohibition when speakeasies started using fruit juices & the like to try and coverup the tast of poor quality bootleg liquor.

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**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-cocktail-hour-become-a-part-of-american-life/539119/5 "2010-05-12T02:01:20Z")

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And prohibition meant that people developed a taste for easily transported high-proof spirits, rather than beer.

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**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-cocktail-hour-become-a-part-of-american-life/539119/6 "2010-05-12T22:33:13Z")

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Easily-transported and -stored distilled spirits were popular for those same reasons _long_ before Prohibition.

However, it is true that many classic cocktail recipes were invented and/or popularized in the '20s.

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-cocktail-hour-become-a-part-of-american-life/539119/7 "2010-05-13T00:55:56Z")

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The OED has a first cite from 1927.

> [@OED](#):
>
> 1927 E. HEMINGWAY Men without Women (1928) 68 Sometimes, after the \*cocktail hour. 1930 A. BENNETT Imperial Palace xiii. 78 ‘Not quite the cocktail hour here, is it?’ said Sir Henry. 1966 Observer 13 Nov. (Colour Suppl.) 40/2 The Cocktail Hour, commonly known as drinks time, is a mysterious 6-8 p.m. limbo.