The Cosmopolitan wasn’t just a drink, it was a way of life. Early gays did not yet know the unifying power of a single cocktail and so, like hunter-gatherers, each found his own respective drink, rarely holding much allegiance one way or another, unaware that just beyond the horizon a new sunset beckoned.

People drank and certain drinks were more popular than others, but the idea that everyone just had to be drinking the same thing was unheard of. Oh sure, gays were getting drunk long before the Cosmo came to town, but it’s remembered now as a shadowy world of light beers, wine coolers, Cape Cods, Long Island Iced Teas and other seashore-related libations. (We apologize in advance if you really like Cosmo’s and in fact, the best kind of drink is the one that’s best for you.) Still, one of the best ways to take the temperature of the gay community is to see what they’re drinking, as our look into the recent past reveals.

Don’t believe us? We dare you to go into a gay bar in any major metropolitan area on a busy night and loudly order a Cosmo. Combine the two and you have the gay obsession with what cocktail is in and which isn’t. If there are two things gays like to be at the forefront of it’s trends and liquor.