The 43 Most Popular Drinks to Order at a Bar in 2024

This coffee-and-vodka cocktail is a viral sensation and surprisingly simple to make.

Ingredients

• 2 oz Grey Goose vodka
• 1/2 oz Mr Black coffee liqueur
• 3/4 oz simple syrup
• 1 1/2 oz fresh espresso
  
  Directions
  Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with two or three coffee beans.

Think of it as Mexico’s tequila-fueled answer to the Cuba libre. It turns out the earthy, vegetal sweetness of tequila is as lovely a companion to Coke as rum.

Ingredients

• 1 oz tequila blanco
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 5 oz Coke (ideally Mexican Coke)
• lime wedge or wheel

Directions

Rim a highball glass with citrus salt and fill with ice. Add tequila and lime juice. Top with Coke and stir. Garnish with a lime wedge or wheel. Steak knife optional.

The Sazerac is a stiff drink with roots deep in New Orleans. Its skeleton is that of a classic whiskey cocktail—booze, bitters, sugar, and water—but its bulk is far more substantial.

Ingredients

• 1 sugar cube
  
• 2 1/2 oz rye whiskey
• 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• absinthe
• lemon peel
  

Directions

In an old-fashioned glass, muddle a sugar cube with a few drops of water. Add several small ice cubes, then rye whiskey, Peychaud’s bitters, and Angostura bitters. Stir well. Roll a few drops of absinthe around a second, chilled old-fashioned glass until its inside is thoroughly coated. Pour off the excess. Strain the contents of the first glass into the second. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

With Cointreau instead of triple sec, higher-caliber spirits instead of well booze, and Mexican Coke, this drink becomes not only palatable but enjoyable.

Ingredients

• 1/2 oz vodka
• 1/2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz white rum
• 1/2 oz silver tequila
• 1/2 oz Cointreau
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 2 tsp simple syrup
• 3/4 oz Mexican Coke

Directions

Shake ingredients (except Mexican Coke). Strain into a Collins glass over crushed ice, then top with Coke. Garnish with a lemon twist.

With coffee liqueur and vodka, it’s less of a dessert cocktail than a White Russian.

Ingredients

• 2 oz vodka
• 1 oz coffee liqueur
  
  Directions
  Stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into an old-fashioned glass over fresh ice.

Who says you need to be at, on, or very near a beach to drink a mai tai? Certainly it wasn’t us. And when foul weather brings foul moods with it, you don’t need a beach-themed excuse to have a tiki classic.

Ingredients

• 2 oz dark rum
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz orange curaçao
• 1/2 oz orgeat syrup
• 1/8 oz rock candy syrup

Directions

Shake ingredients with cracked ice in a chilled cocktail shaker. Pour unstrained into a large Collins glass (or tiki mug). Garnish with half a lime shell and a sprig of mint.

You order this rum, passion fruit, and lemon drink topped with any assortment of garnishes (but traditionally oranges and maraschino cherries), and it’s served in its very own type of glass.

Ingredients

• 2 oz dark rum
• 1 oz passion fruit syrup
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• orange slices
• maraschino cherries
  
  Directions
  Combine rum, passion fruit syrup, and lemon juice with ice in a shaker. Shake until frosty. Pour into a hurricane glass filled with more ice cubes. Garnish with orange slices and maraschino cherries.

Amaretto liqueur is bitter, but not that bitter. It’s boozy, but not that boozy. And it’s sweet, but not that sweet. Italian in origin, the almond liqueur is easy to sip by itself. But add some citrus and sugar and it becomes a sweet Amaretto sour.

Ingredients

• 2 oz amaretto liqueur
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 orange slice
• 1 Luxardo cherry

Directions

Combine amaretto, simple syrup, and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake for at least 10 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over ice and garnish with a maraschino cherry and orange slice.

Nothing hits the spot quite like a bold, briny martini. Pro tip: Ask your bartender to make it “extra dirty” (meaning with extra olive juice).

Ingredients
• 2 oz gin
• 1/4 oz extra-dry vermouth
• 1/4 oz olive juice

Directions
Combine the gin, vermouth, and olive juice in a mixing tin with ice. Stir well. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with as many olives as you’d like.

This simple cocktail is perfect if you’re ready to upgrade from your go-to vodka soda. It’s bracing, sweet, and a little sour.

Ingredients
• 2 oz vodka
• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup

Directions
Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a lime wheel.

This sweet, citrusy drink made with honey and white rum is best enjoyed on the first truly glorious day of spring.

Ingredients
• 1/2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 Tbsp water
• 2 oz white rum (you can substitute golden rum or dark Jamaican rum)
• 1/2 oz lemon juice

Directions
Stir honey with warm water in a cocktail shaker until the honey is thoroughly dissolved. Add the rum and lemon juice, then shake with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This complex cocktail with Mexican, Italian, and Trinidadian influences is perfect for summer.

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 oz tequila reposado
• 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
• 1/2 oz dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz Campari
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Directions
Stir ingredients with cracked ice in a mixing tin until chilled. Strain into an old-fashioned glass over cubed ice. Garnish with a citrus twist.

Sure, you could just order a glass of Champagne. Or you can request this Champagne cocktail, which adds bitters, lemon, and a little bit of sugar to the equation.

Ingredients
• Brut Champagne
• 1 sugar cube
• 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
• Lemon twist

Directions
Place a sugar cube in a chilled Champagne flute, lash it with 2 or 3 dashes of bitters, and fill the glass with brut Champagne. Squeeze a lemon twist on top, then use as garnish.

Forget wasting away in Margaritaville. Change things up with this creamy rum cocktail made with two kinds of fruit juice.

Ingredients
• 3 oz dark or gold rum
• 2 1/2 oz pineapple juice
• 1 oz orange juice
• 1 oz coconut cream

Directions
Shake ingredients well with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a hurricane glass over fresh ice. Garnish with grated nutmeg.

Down this classic cocktail while you’re sporting boat shoes and a preppy sweater around your shoulders to really nail the vibe. But don’t be intimidated: It’s basically a vodka cran.

Ingredients
• 2 oz vodka
• 2-3 oz cranberry juice
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• club soda

Directions
Pour vodka, cranberry juice, and lime juice into a Collins glass over ice. Stir. Top with club soda, then garnish with a lime wedge.

Pro tip: Choose a bourbon you’re fond of, since those flavors will truly shine in this simple, straightforward cocktail.

Ingredients
• 2 oz bourbon
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 3/4 oz honey

Directions
Combine the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice.

Yeah, yeah, we needn’t remind you that this classic cocktail was popularized by Sex and the City. All you really need to know is that it’s every bit as enticing as it looks.

Ingredients
• 2 oz vodka
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 1 oz cranberry juice
• 1 oz Rose’s lime juice

Directions
Shake the ingredients in a shaker with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, then garnish with lime.

If you love an herbaceous cocktail, cool down with a simple gin rickey this summer. It’s only three ingredients, and they combine beautifully for a refreshing drink.

Ingredients
• 2 oz gin
• 1/2 fresh lime
• 6 oz club soda (to top off)

Directions
Squeeze the juice from half a lime into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Drop the lime shell in the glass. Pour in the gin, then fill the rest of the glass with club soda. Stir.

This might earn you an eye roll from your bartender or drinking companions. But that’s their problem—you’ll just be enjoying your elevated tequila plus OJ.

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 oz tequila
• 3 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 tsp grenadine

Directions
Shake tequila and orange juice well with cracked ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add grenadine and stir gently, for no longer than is necessary to produce layers of oranges and reds. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

This cozy drink is especially enjoyable on a cold winter night, but butter, sugar, and rum is a winning combo any time of year.

Ingredients
• 2 oz dark rum
• 2 sugar cubes
• 1 pat unsalted butter

Directions
In a mug, dissolve the sugar cubes in a little hot water. Add rum and butter. Fill the mug with hot water. Sprinkle nutmeg on top.