When Rick is talking to the gentleman with the Old Taylor Whiskey he tells him that mixed drinks became popular during prohibition because the alcohol was so bad. Truthfully the cocktails became worse during prohibition because bartenders cared less about the taste of the finished product due to the exceedingly poor quality of the alcohol they were often forced to work with and its influence. Actually mixed drinks, more commonly referred to as "cocktails", have been around for much longer. The earliest known written use of the term was in 1803 and was cleared defined in writing in 1806. The first bartender's guide in 1862 and the first "cocktail" party was allegedly given by Mrs. Julius S. Walsh Jr. for 50 guests in St. Louis, Missouri in 1917 several years prior to prohibition's beginning.