Cocktail is a film released by Touchstone Pictures in 1988. It stars Tom Cruise as a talented and ambitious bartender who aspires to working in business and finds love while working at a bar in Jamaica.

Plot

After leaving the Army and moving to New York City, Brian Flanagan (Cruise) gets a part-time job as a bartender at T.G.I. Friday's while studying for a business degree (which he needs to get a job in marketing). At first Brian is a terrible bartender, revealed in a montage of his screw ups. Over time, he learns the tricks of the trade from his boss/mentor Doug Coughlin (Bryan Brown). Brian and Doug soon become very close; Doug readily assumes a mentor role over the young and naïve Brian, and rains advice and opinions down upon him. His advice takes a familiar structure as he usually begins most of them with "Coughlin's Law". An example of his expert advice, which actually turns out to be quite poignant, is "Coughlin's Law: Drink or be gone!" Other pearls include: "Bury the dead, they stink up the joint." and "Anything else is always something better."