"Professor" Jerry Thomas, that is, hero to all cocktail historians, aspiring bar stars and other assorted "cocktailians" (a term coined, as far as we know, by spirit and cocktail writer Gary Regan.) Thomas, considered by many to be the father of the cocktail, and his heritage was the spark for a recent SlowFood NYC tribute to the purely American form of drinking, held at the classic NYC Oak Room in the Plaza Hotel.
—"Hats off to Jerry," Cheers, April 1, 2003
One of Abou-Ganim's winning cocktails was the Golden Dragon, a drink made with 8-year-old rum, orgeat or almond syrup, creme de coconut and fresh cream. The ingredients were shaken well and then strained into an ice-filled, old-fashioned glass that had been coated with sweet vermouth. The drink earned the esteemed cocktailian a whopping 74 points out of a possible 80, placing him second in the Millennium Cocktail category.
—Gary Regan, "U.S. bartenders mix it up with best in world, end dry spell with six prizes," Nation's Restaurant News, September 10, 2001
Mixing cocktails is becoming a highfalutin business. As proof (no, that's not a pun) you need only consider the large number of drink mixers who are nixing the title
bartender (a worthy word that dates from 1836). Instead, many prefer the pretentious appellation
bar chef or the awkward label
cocktailian.
There's an earlier — now defunct — sense of this word that referred to any person who enjoys cocktails:
Though the tour of the mansion is worth an admission price, the charge probably dissuaded fleets of cocktailians from stepping out onto their strobe-lit dance floor.
—Diana Aitchison, "On the town," The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), May 21, 1993
