A cocktail is essentially a beverage that combines multiple ingredients, including at least one alcoholic component, to create a single drink. While some cocktails are made with just a handful of ingredients, others can include six or even seven different elements to achieve their complex flavor profiles.
As International Cocktail Day approaches, it’s an excellent time to learn more about these classic cocktails that have become staples in bars and restaurants worldwide.
Although everyone’s taste in drinks varies, a few timeless concoctions have stood the test of time and are beloved by cocktail enthusiasts everywhere. Whether you’re a pro behind the bar or just someone who appreciates a great cocktail, these seven classic drinks are timeless favorites you won’t miss.
Classic Cocktails
Cosmopolitan
This sophisticated and refreshing cocktail was famous in the late ’90s, partly thanks to its appearance on the classic TV show, Sex and the City. With its lovely pink hue and tangy sweetness, Cosmopolitan quickly became synonymous with the show’s fashion-savvy protagonist, Carrie Bradshaw. Today, the Cosmopolitan remains a favorite among cocktail enthusiasts and can be found on the menus of many bars and restaurants.
Despite being invented well before the modern cocktail renaissance, the Cosmo has enjoyed an enduring place in the pantheon of classic cocktails. Served in a tall, 10-ounce Martini glass, the drink’s popularity and cultural significance are unmatched by any other cocktail created in the 20th century.
The standard Cosmopolitan typically includes vodka, Triple Sec, cranberry juice, and ice, garnished with a twist of orange peel. Some recipes incorporate fresh lime juice for an extra burst of tanginess or use flavored vodka for a unique twist. The Cosmopolitan boasts a range of flavor profiles, from sweet to tart, depending on the recipe. Cranberry juice provides a fruity backdrop, while Cointreau imparts a citrusy note of orange.
Daquiri
The daiquiri, a rum-based cocktail made with citrus juice and sugar, is considered one of the six basic drinks in the classic book written by David A. Emburry, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. The cocktail was named after the Cuban town of Daiquiri, where it was first concocted in 1898 by an American mining engineer named Jennings Cox.
Over the years, the daiquiri evolved and was perfected by a bartender and bar owner Constantino “Constante” Ribalaigua Vert of Floridita in Havana, Cuba. His addition of shaved ice and an electric blender created the frozen daiquiri in the 1920s and 1930s.
The beauty of the daiquiri lies in its simplicity. A well-made daiquiri should have a balanced blend of sweet and sour flavors and can be adjusted to personal preferences. This delicious cocktail combines sweet rum and tangy lime juice, rounded out with a touch of sugar, making it a refreshing and thirst-quenching beverage.
Gin and Tonic
The gin and tonic, a classic cocktail made with juniper-infused gin and astringent tonic water, is typically served with fresh lime and a lot of ice—making it the perfect drink to beat the heat on the summer days.
Prescribed initially as a medicinal tonic, the gin, and tonic, or G&T, has become one of the most beloved drinks in modern mixology, with entire bars dedicated to its infinite possibilities.
The combination of gin and tonic water was a taste revelation popularized among the British military and colonists in the early 19th century. The drink became so popular that Winston Churchill famously said, “Gin and tonic have saved more English lives and souls than all the doctors in the Empire.”
The tonic water provides a bittersweet taste, the gin is astringent, and the lime adds a tartness, creating a refreshing drink perfect for a hot day. You can say that a classic gin and tonic tastes similar to a mojito but with a more robust flavor. It has a zesty taste with sweet undertones from the tonic water, making it a light and refreshing favorite for dinnertime.
Manhattan
Whiskey enthusiasts have been enjoying the classic Manhattan cocktail for centuries. This beloved mixture of rye or bourbon whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters is renowned for its herbal undertones and subtle bitterness.
The origins of the Manhattan cocktail are uncertain, but the prevailing belief attributes its creation to Dr. Iain Marshall in the early 1880s, who supposedly invented the recipe for a party thrown by Lady Randolph Churchill. It is said that the event was held at The Manhattan Club, located in New York City, thus giving the cocktail its name. However, recent evidence has disproven this theory as a myth.
The Manhattan cocktail perfectly blends three essential ingredients: whiskey’s richness, vermouth’s subtle sweetness, and bitters’ balancing bitterness. This classic cocktail is an excellent base for various creative twists while retaining its signature flair.
The Manhattan cocktail has gained widespread popularity for its robust flavor with a touch of bitterness that balances out the sweetness of vermouth. Traditionally, rye whiskey is used to make this classic cocktail, but bourbon can also give it a sweeter, caramel-like flavor. Manhattan has become a favorite among cocktail enthusiasts everywhere with its perfect blend of ingredients.
Margarita
The margarita is an iconic cocktail that blends tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice for a refreshing, tangy taste, often accompanied by a salt-rimmed glass. This beloved tequila-based drink complements many cuisines worldwide, including bold and lively dishes from India and Thailand.
Known for achieving the perfect balance of all five primary tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami – the margarita hits four of these notes, the rim’s saltiness, the bitterness of the tequila, the sweetness of the agave, and the sourness of the limes.
Despite its fame, the origins of the margarita still need to be clarified, with various stories circulating in modern cocktail culture. It appears to have evolved from a family of cocktails called “Daisies,” which blended citrus juice, syrup, or liqueur with a base spirit. The first written record of the word “Margarita” appeared in 1953.
Martini
The Martini is an iconic cocktail that has transcended time and borders, appearing at bars and speakeasies worldwide for ages. The classic Martini is made with a combination of gin and vermouth and is usually adorned with an olive or lemon twist. The Martini exudes sophistication and refinement regardless of how it’s consumed, whether straight up or over ice.
Several theories about how the Martini got its name, one of which attributes it to the Martini brand of vermouth. Another popular belief is that the cocktail evolved from a drink called the Martinez, served at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco in the early 1860s.
Feeling suave and sophisticated ordering a shaken, not stirred Martini? Beware that this specific instruction will significantly impact the drink’s composition, resulting in a different taste than a stirred drink.
At its core, a martini is characterized by its main ingredient: gin or vodka. The drink’s flavor profile may include herbaceous notes from the vermouth and a blend of citrus and botanical flavors from the gin. One thing’s for sure, the Martini’s timeless appeal will always stay in style.
Negroni
These days, you can find Negronis on menus almost everywhere. Bartenders often give a nod of approval to those who order one, making it one of the most renowned cocktails globally.
Legend has it that Count Camillo Negroni invented the cocktail at Caffè Casoni in Florence, Italy, by ordering an Americano with gin instead of soda water. It’s made with only three ingredients: gin, vermouth, and Campari, and is garnished with orange peel.
In 2013, National Negroni Week was established to take advantage of the drink’s bittersweet popularity. Bars across the country serve their unique version of Negronis during the annual June celebration and donate some of the profits to their chosen charity.
Today, Negronis are popular aperitifs known for their intense taste of herbs and licorice root, with sweet and fruity notes. Though it’s a bitter cocktail, adding sweet vermouth and an orange peel garnish brings balance. The Campari and gin contribute bitterness, while the sweet vermouth brings everything together into a bittersweet harmony. A classic Negroni is slightly bitter yet refreshing to taste.
Whiskey Sour
Indulge in a whiskey sour’s cozy and classic sensation – a perfect harmony of sweet and sour flavors. This drink is typically crafted with bourbon or whiskey, a dash of sugar for sweetness, and fresh lemon juice. The whiskey sour is a historical gem and a member of the sour drink family, standing alongside other beloved cocktails like the daiquiri and margarita.
The whiskey sour’s luxurious texture results from the weight of the two liqueurs, creating a smooth and velvety concoction that’s both tangy and delightful.
While the first documentation of the whiskey sour was in 1862 in The Bartenders Guide by Jerry Thomas, there’s a good chance that people were sipping on this classic drink long before then. During the 1800s, sea voyages were challenging, and freshwater was scarce. As a result, sailors turned to whiskey, rum, and other spirits as a source of hydration. They also brought large quantities of citrus fruits to combat scurvy, making the whiskey sour a perfect combination of fresh citrus and thirst-quenching alcohol.
