50. Carajillo
Some trace the creation of the Carajillo – a mix of spirit or liqueur with coffee – to Catalunya in Spain, while others place its origins in Cuba during Spanish rule. One story attributes it to transport workers in early 19th-century Barcelona, who needed an efficient way of knocking back an espresso with a shot. Wherever it originated, the invention of Licor 43 in 1946 forever changed the Carajillo, with the liqueur becoming the standard companion to coffee in the drink. Today, the Carajillo is a staple in modern-day Latin America, and Mexico in particular, either served layered, known as puesto, or in more contemporary shakeado form.
49. Hanky Panky
When actor Sir Charles Hawtrey was first served this bracing combination of equal parts gin and sweet vermouth, with a few dashes of Fernet Branca, in the American Bar at The Savoy in London at some point in the early 20th century, he famously declared it to be “the real hanky panky”. He had, the story goes, pronounced himself “half dead” to Ada Coleman, who headed up the bar between 1903 and 1925, and this is what she created to revive him. You can, of course, still revive yourself with a Hanky Panky at the American Bar, where a vintage version is also offered, made with rare old bottles of all three ingredients.
48. Long Island Iced Tea
Best known for its usually unfounded reputation for booziness, the ongoing popularity of the Long Island Iced Tea seems to contradict contemporary moderation trends. When it comes to its invention, there are competing claims, foremost among them from Robert ‘Rosebud’ Butt, who says he came up with it for a cocktail comp in 1972. The drink’s construction – four white spirits in equal parts, triple sec and cola, as well as sugar and citrus – has proven well suited to variations. For maximum look-at-me effect, there’s the bright-blue Adios Motherfucker, likely emerging from Los Angeles in the 1980s, with blue curaçao replacing triple sec and lemonade replacing cola.
47. Southside
Often described as a Gin Mojito – particularly during the height of the latter’s modern-day popularity – the Southside has a colourful yet inconclusive history. Some attribute this combination of gin, lime, sugar and mint to Prohibition-era gangster Frankie McErlane, saying that he used it to cover the flavour of bootlegged spirits. Others trace its origins to New York rather than Chicago, either to Long Island’s South Side Sportsmen’s Club or the former Manhattan speakeasy 21 Club. Most often served up, versions with soda – the Southside Fizz – have appeared with regularity over the years and have been popular in recent times too.
46. Ramos Gin Fizz
Despite its reputation for being notoriously labour-intensive to make, with serious amounts of shaking required, the Ramos Gin Fizz continues to appear on cocktail lists, with its distinctive tower of soufflé-like foam. This variant on the Gin Fizz, with additional cream and orange flower water, is said to have been created in 1888 by Carl Ramos at the Imperial Cabinet Saloon in New Orleans. Indeed, it was originally known as the New Orleans Fizz.
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Proving over the years to be more than just a workout for bartenders, the Ramos is also a wonderful base for variations, such as Jim Meehan’s matcha-flavoured twist, the Dragonfly.
45. Painkiller
This combination of Pusser’s Rum, cream of coconut, pineapple and orange was born in the 1970s on a white beach in the British Virgin Islands, at the Soggy Dollar Bar, so-named because of the need to wade ashore to take one of the six seats there. The drink was created by the bar’s English proprietor Daphne Henderson, and one of the regulars there, Pusser’s founder Charles Tobias, took note, with the rum brand eventually trademarking the name. A contemporary twist appeared on the list at Lyaness in London a few years ago – the Double Painkiller combined the bar’s Infinite Banana with gin, rum, toasted coconut, lemon and orange.
44. Fitzgerald
This deceptively simple modern classic, channelling age-old cocktails like the Gimlet and the Sour, was created on the fly by Dale DeGroff during service at New York’s Rainbow Room Promenade Bar, at some point in the 1990s. Responding to a customer asking for something beyond their usual G&T, DeGroff combined gin, lemon juice and sugar, adding a few dashes of Angostura, and the result was a hit.
Originally dubbed Gin Thing, the drink was eventually given this more literary name and made its first appearance in print in Degroff’s 2002 book The Craft of the Cocktail.
43. Corpse Reviver 2
Bartender Harry Craddock, who popularised the Corpse Reviver #2, and possibly invented it, warned in his 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book that “four of these taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again”. Its life-giving properties aside, this is the most enduring of the Revivers, combining gin, triple sec, Lillet Blanc and lemon juice in equal parts, with a dash of absinthe. For a colourful, contemporary twist, there’s the Corpse Reviver No. Blue, by Jacob Briars, which replaces triple sec with blue curaçao. The first in the series, Corpse Reviver #1, is a mix of calvados, cognac and vermouth.
42. Gin Basil Smash
The venerable yet out-of-favour Smash, most often whiskey based, was given a new lease of life in 2008 when Germany’s Jörg Meyer created this contemporary classic. Inspired by the Whisky Smash, as well as a drink Meyer encountered that used basil as a garnish, he switched out the base for gin, originally calling his creation the Gin Pesto, before thankfully settling on its final name.
Le Lion Bar de Paris in Hamburg, where the drink made its first appearance, is now known as ‘the cradle of the Gin Basil Smash’, and serves no small quantity of these every night.
41. Sidecar
It’s been a winding road for the Sidecar in recent years on this list, up significantly last year to 26th place, and now down to 41st. Nevertheless, it flies the flag for cognac among the classics, combining that base spirit with triple sec and lemon juice, often served with a sugar rim. Thought to be an evolution of the Brandy Crusta, credit likely goes to either Pat McGarry at London’s Buck’s Club or Harry MacElhone at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. The Sidecar isn’t without its contemporary takes, although the 1920s Between the Sheets is well worth revisiting too, in which light rum joins the cognac base.
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40. Piña Colada
While we know that the Piña Colada was almost certainly born in Puerto Rico, there are at least three bartenders who could be responsible for its creation. Two of these claims originate at San Juan’s Caribe Hilton Hotel’s Beachcomber Bar, by either Ramón Pérez or Ricardo Garcia, while it may also have been created by Ramón Mingot in 1963 at Barrachina in Old San Juan. We may never know. One of the most prominent contemporary twists comes from Coupette in London’s Bethnal Green. Its Champagne Piña Colada combines rum and champagne with coconut sorbet and pineapple cordial.
39. Old Cuban
This Audrey Saunders classic, despite its name, is little more than two decades old. Created in 2001, while Saunders was working at Beacon restaurant in New York, it takes inspiration from the Mojito as well as the French 75, resulting in a timeless combination of aged rum, mint, sugar syrup, lime juice, Angostura and champagne, served up.
For a modern-day version that stays true to the spirit of the original, there’s the one on the list at Double Standard at The Standard London, by Zoe Burgess, with Eminente Ambar Claro rum, lime, fresh mint, Angostura bitters and Chapel Down Vintage Reserve.
38. Mai Tai
While it may have dropped significantly from 19th place last year, the Mai Tai remains among the most enduring and recognisable of tiki classics. Among those who have claimed responsibility for it, the most prominent is Victor Jules Bergeron, or Trader Vic, who claimed to have come up with this mix of J Wray & Nephew rum, lime juice, curaçao, orgeat and rock candy syrup in 1944, at his bar in Oakland. Legend has it that the first time Vic made the drink, it was described as “mai tai-roa aé”, meaning, in Tahitian, “out of this world – the best”.
37. Sazerac
The Sazerac remains relatively unmodified since its origins in the mid-1800s, apart from a necessary change to its base spirit along the way. Created in New Orleans, most likely at the Exchange Coffee House, it originally combined Sazerac de Forge et Fils cognac and Peychaud’s Bitters, with absinthe following soon afterwards. Rye whiskey stepped in when phylloxera hit the cognac industry, although in modern times both spirits are often used together. Nowadays, New Orleans French Quarter bar Jewel of the South opts for rye for its Jewel Sazerac, adding Madeira and French wine Matifoc Rancio Sec into the mix.
36. Last Word
Despite having been in existence for over a century and spawning more than a few enduring twists – two of which are on this list – the Last Word was nearly lost to us. One of its original proponents was vaudeville actor Frank Fogarty, after he visited its likely birthplace, the Detroit Athletic Club, in 1916, but its fame was short-lived. It was bartender Murray Stenson, in the early 2000s who brought this equal-parts combination of gin, Green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice back to prominence. Among the many successful modern-day riffs on the Last Word is Sam Ross’s creation the Paper Plane, in 30th position on this year’s list, combining bourbon, amaro, Aperol and lemon juice.
35. Bramble
The legendary, late Dick Bradsell’s contributions to the world of classic cocktails don’t end with the Espresso Martini. Among his other enduring creations is the Bramble, which Bradsell created in the 1980s while working at Soho members’ club Fred’s. Setting out to create a distinctly British cocktail, he combined gin, lemon juice and sugar – in the style of a Sour – served on crushed ice, and finished with a distinctive splash of colour in the form of a drizzle of blackberry liqueur, aka crème de mûre. Nowadays, at its namesake bar in Edinburgh, it’s made with the bar’s own Lucky Bramble Liqueur.
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34. Oaxaca Old Fashioned
A new entry on this year’s list, the Oaxaca Old Fashioned takes the venerable whiskey-based drink and gives it a decidedly Mexican spin. This contemporary classic was created around the year 2007 at New York’s Death & Co by bartender Phil Ward – who went on to open agave-specialist bar Mayahuel, sadly closed in 2017 – and it’s gone on to be listed on menus the world over.
Ward replaced the original’s base spirit with tequila and mezcal, and switched out the sugar for agave syrup, while opting for nothing more complicated than Angostura when it came to the bitters.
33. Bee’s Knees
This enduring Prohibition-era classic, most commonly found as a combination of gin, honey and lemon juice, and sometimes with additional orange juice, has more than a few origin stories. Some claim that its creator was American socialite and Titanic survivor Margaret Brown, also known as Molly Brown, while others give the credit to Frank Meier, head bartender at the Ritz in Paris in the 1920s. Regardless of its origins, the Bee’s Knees is still going strong today, both in its original form and in various twists, such as the yuzu-based variant at Amaro Bar in London.
32. Caipirinha
After nearly dropping off this list, the Caipirinha has deservedly climbed up into the middle ranks this year. The signature cocktail of Brazil, and of its national spirit cachaça, is defined by its laid-back attitude and unfussy preparation, with limes muddled with sugar in the glass before adding ice and spirit.
The Caipirinha has spawned countless variations and riffs, such as the vodka-based Caipiroska, as well as many involving a variety of fruits. Indeed, at Viajante 87 in London’s Notting Hill, a sharing-style Caipirinha serve, in either a 50cl or 1-litre carafe, comes with syrups and fresh fruit for customisation.
31. Clover Club
Named for a group of businessmen that used to meet at Philadelphia’s Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in the early 1900s, this mix of gin, vermouth, lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg white was only popular for a short time before falling into obscurity – amid no small amount of mockery. Thankfully, many years later, it’s been revived in recent times.
Proving the versatility of this inspired combination of ingredients, Jake Burger reimagined the classic into the Clover Club Fizz not too long ago, lengthening it with soda and making use of fresh raspberries instead of syrup.
30. Paper Plane
Milk & Honey alumnus Sam Ross – also responsible for the Penicillin in 12th place on this list – created the Paper Plane in 2008 for the opening of Chicago’s The Violet Hour, drawing on the Last Word’s equal-parts structure, and replacing its ingredients with bourbon, Aperol, amaro and lemon juice.
Among the twists on the Paper Plane created in subsequent years, perhaps the most prevalent is Joaquín Simó’s Naked & Famous, at 27th place on this list. More recently, the Paper Glider has been on offer at London’s Scarfes Bar, combining Highland Park 12, Aperol and a peach and maple verjus.
29. Dark & Stormy
After a few years of decline on this list, the Dark & Stormy makes a leap of 10 spaces this year, reaffirming the appeal of rum and ginger beer that dates back, at least in Bermuda, to the 1800s. Visiting Americans took to the drink during Prohibition, and brought it home with them after repeal.
It wasn’t until the 1970s that Bermuda rum Goslings trademarked the Dark ’n Stormy. Among the many contemporary variations is the Perfect Storm, with Skipper dark rum, plum brandy, fresh ginger, lemon and honey, by Alastair Burgess of Happiness Forgets in London and No Nuisance in St Albans.
28. Mezcal Margarita
Margarita twists don’t come much simpler, or more effective, than this one, switching out the original’s tequila for fellow agave spirit mezcal, resulting in a generally punchier drink, and benefiting from mezcal’s often-smoky characteristics. And as mezcal’s star has continued to rise in recent years, so has the popularity of the Mezcal Margarita – joining the constellation of currently on-trend agave-spirit drinks such as the Paloma and Spicy Margarita. The Mezcal Margarita is effective as a classic triple-sec Margarita, as well as in Tommy’s form, with nothing more than lime juice and agave syrup allowing the mezcal to shine through.
27. Naked & Famous
Drawing on two classics, the well-established Last Word and the more recent Paper Plane, and what its creator Joaquín Simó describes as “the bastard love child born out of an illicit Oaxacan love affair” between the two, the Naked & Famous consists of mezcal, Yellow Chartreuse, Aperol and lime juice. Simó was working at New York’s Death & Co in 2007 when he created it.
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Another take on the Last Word that leans in a similar direction is Phil Ward’s Division Bell, with mezcal, Aperol, maraschino and lime. Meanwhile, agave bar Naked & Famous in London’s Notting Hill makes its namesake drink with both mezcal and blanco tequila.
26. Aviation
The Aviation continues its ascent, up from 35th place last year and flying among other pre-Prohibition classics on this list, despite its defining ingredient being absent for much of its existence. A few years after the drink’s first mention in print, in Hugo Ensslin’s 1917 Recipes for Mixed Drinks, the Eighteenth Amendment helped to bring about the demise of crème de violette, with the Aviation becoming known as a combination of gin, lemon juice and maraschino. The cocktail renaissance of the early 2000s saw the return of crème de violette, and a return to floral form for this enduring classic.
25. Cosmopolitan
You can’t talk Cosmos without mentioning Sex and the City. The show took an almost forgotten classic and brought it into the 21st century and it’s remained a regular choice in the world’s best bars ever since.
Cheryl Cook in Miami and Toby Cecchini in New York contest its creation, but for certain we can date the boozy pink drink to the tail end of the ’80s and credit a ’90s television series for taking it mainstream.
24. Pisco Sour
Much like the ongoing debate about the origins of pisco, both Chile and Peru have variations on the Pisco Sour. The latter, which uses egg white and cocktail bitters, is the globally recognised style and it’s said to date back to the early 20th century when American bartender Victor Vaughen Morris opened Morris’ Bar in Lima.
Despite dropping eight places over the past two years, the Pisco Sour remains in the top half of the list and is unquestionably a bona fide classic.
23. Zombie
Falernum, various fruit juices and lots of rum are the basis of the Zombie, a punchy creation by Don Beach at Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood in the 1930s. This tiki classic has provenance, plenty of booze and staying power among the world’s best bars, mirroring its performance in 2024.
As with other tiki classics, the Zombie is presented and twisted in lots of ways around the world. But even sticking with a more traditional style, the drink presents an opportunity to mix several different rums and juices – allowing bartenders to fine-tune the cocktail to suit different palates.
22. Gin Fizz
Despite being one of the oldest classics, the Gin Fizz continues its steady creep up the top 50 list.
Legendary figure Jerry Thomas listed Holland gin, lemon juice, sugar and soda water in the original recipe, but the Ramos Gin Fizz, a twist with the addition of cream and orange water, carries a similarly impressive legacy.
This iteration was first thought up by Henry Charles Ramos in New Orleans in 1888 and, despite its notoriously laborious recipe, bartenders have a long-standing respect for the drink and its role in New Orleans folklore.
21. Vodka Martini
It’s true that gin remains the dominant choice in a Martini globally, but its vodka cousin has risen a whopping 21 places from last year. Probably on the back of the wider Martini movement, the Vodka Martini is also benefiting from the surge in craft, flavour-forward vodkas now thriving in premium markets.
Of course, Ian Fleming’s James Bond has a role to play in the drink’s historic popularity, and with Amazon now having creative control of the series, we may see the drink continue to rise through our ranking.
20. Americano
Said to have been born in the mid-19th century, the Americano pre-dates the Negroni and serves as a more aperitivo-style serve. American tourism is largely credited with the name, while the simple combination of Campari, sweet vermouth and soda water is thriving under the simultaneous success of both the Negroni and Spritz movement across Europe.
Today, Camparino in Galleria next door to Milan’s Duomo cathedral is the spiritual home of the Americano, where tourism continues to play a significant role in the widespread popularity of the drink.
19. Bloody Mary
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The Bloody Mary is less a classic cocktail and more a concept. Vodka, tomato juice, pepper and celery are commonly used today, but in truth the serve varies from menu to menu – even switching out the spirit for gin or tequila. The underlying theme of all Bloody Marys, however, is a bold, punchy serve packed with strong flavours.
Its most likely origin comes from Harry’s New York Bar in Paris during the 1920s under bartender Fernand ‘Pete’ Petiot, who took the recipe with him to The Savoy in London and later the St Regis Hotel in New York.
18. French 75
You’d be hard pressed to find a classic cocktail which has undergone as many identity changes as the French 75.
Initially called Soixante-Quinze, it was named after a French 75mm gun during the First World War. The only two ingredients which survive today from its original recipe are dry gin and lemon juice, while calvados, grenadine and absinthe have all given way to champagne and powdered sugar over the subsequent century.
But it’s not just ingredients which have changed – the original cocktail was served in a coupe before changing to a Collins glass, which eventually gave way to a flute, which is most commonly used today.
17. Gimlet
Spirit, lime and sugar is the simple equation for many classic cocktails. For gin, the Gimlet is the result. However, it wasn’t created in a bar, but at sea by the British Navy as a scurvy preventative. While it’s not recommended to drink it warm at a 50-50 ratio as the sailors would have, stirred down over ice and well balanced, the Gimlet is an all-time classic.
16. Mojito
The origin of the Mojito is as muddled as the drink itself. Sir Francis Drake and Ernest Hemingway are two names mentioned in the development of the 100-year-old recipe, yet what is clear is its bulletproof legacy.
Synonymous with sunny vacations and the Cuban lifestyle, the Mojito is essentially a minty Highball version of a Daiquiri, which explains why the drink continues to sit strong in this list. The Mojito is also easily twisted, making it popular with the bartender affinity – muddling aside.
15. Amaretto Sour
The Amaretto Sour is a crowd pleaser, and has been around since the mid-’70s, reforming in recent years. The classic’s first appearances, likely around the year 1974, saw little more than a combination of amaretto and lemon juice, with the latter quickly turning into a sour mix.
However, that original formulation has evolved and improved over time, taking cues from the more established Whiskey Sour. A revamped version from 2012, by Portland bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler, is largely responsible for the Amaretto Sour’s resurgence. Morgenthaler’s take on the classic combines amaretto with cask-strength bourbon, lemon juice, sugar syrup and egg white.
14. Moscow Mule
The Moscow Mule is a classic with arguably one of the best cocktail origin stories, although whether it’s entirely true is another matter. The tale dates from 1941 and Hollywood’s Cock ’n’ Bull pub, where proprietor Jack Morgan and entrepreneur John Martin were lamenting their ailing businesses. Morgan was trying to launch a ginger beer and Martin had recently acquired the rights to Smirnoff vodka. Then entered Sophie Berezinski, who was struggling to shift a number of copper mugs from her father’s factory in Russia.
Now the Moscow Mule is globally recognised, with its share of modifications. For example, the Gin Gin Mule, switches out the vodka for gin, and uses a little mint from the Mojito too.
13. Boulevardier
What might seem like a twist on the Negroni, the Boulevardier actually emerged independently. The classic was born in 1920s Paris and is thought to be the invention of socialite Erskine Gwynne, editor at the time of Paris magazine The Boulevardier. Gwynne is given credit in bartender Harry McElhone’s 1927 book Barflies and Cocktails, which states that the serve is made with equal parts whiskey, Campari and sweet vermouth.
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McElhone’s book also includes the Old Pal, a similar drink made with rye, Campari and dry vermouth. Nowadays, the Boulevardier tends to be served up or on the rocks, with a larger proportion of whiskey, and occasionally rye replacing bourbon.
12. Penicillin
The Penicillin is arguably the most prominent modern-day classic, hailing from Milk & Honey and bartender Sam Ross. One may assume its origins went further back than the mid-2000s, with its uncomplicated combination of blended Scotch, lemon juice and sugar in the form of a ginger and honey syrup, topped with a float of peaty Islay single malt. The resulting serve is deserving of its medicinal name, and its status as a classic too.
With Whiskey Sour roots, the Penicillin gets its base ingredients via another Milk & Honey classic, the Gold Rush, made with bourbon, lemon and honey.
11. Pornstar Martini
The Pornstar Martini is a distinctive cocktail, not least because of the shot of fizz served alongside it. The serve has a fruity flavour profile, with both the looks and the personality to become one of the most successful and mainstream of the modern-day classics.
Its creator, the late Douglas Ankrah, once wrote that the first time he made these, in 2002, the whole bar was ordering them by the end of the night. The bar in question was Ankrah’s Townhouse in London’s Knightsbridge, but his other venue, Soho’s LAB, often gets the credit. In today’s bar world, you can get a Pornstar Martini nearly everywhere, and you needn’t go further than your local supermarket for a canned version of the classic, perhaps bearing a less risqué name.
10. Manhattan
The Manhattan is a cocktail with hazy origins and a number of competing stories about its inception. Not only is it the most famous cocktail to be named after a New York borough, the Manhattan also has some of the most colourful origin stories of the classics.
One of these is that the serve was created for a party in 1874 at New York’s Manhattan Club, held by Winston Churchill’s mother, except she was pregnant with Winston at the time, and probably in Europe. Another story credits a man who ran a bar on Broadway named Black in the 1860s. However, we may never know the classic’s true origins for certain.
Regardless of who invented it, this famous combination of whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters prevails, along with some of its most widespread modern takes, such as the Rob Roy, or more recent Black Manhattan by US bartender Todd Smith. Smith’s iteration was created at San Francisco’s Bourbon & Branch, and is a simple, effective riff that replaces the sweet vermouth with an amaro – Averna in this case.
9. Paloma
The Paloma has confirmed its staying power for another year running. Not just known locally in Mexico anymore, the Paloma has continued to assert itself in the global bar scene.
At its core, the classic is a deceptively simple mixed drink of tequila and grapefruit soda, or Squirt if you’re in Mexico, with contemporary versions tending to include lime juice too, and sometimes salt.
With a modest yet effective premise, the serve leaves room for improvisation. Much like the recent evolution of the Margarita, there are mezcal versions out there, as well as spicy ones, while some opt to deconstruct the grapefruit soda, using fresh juice instead.
The Paloma has become such a staple that many bars across the globe are championing the serve in all its glory. Athens’ Barro Negro teamed up with Three Cents to unite and form the official Paloma Embassy with the goal to deliver the “best Paloma in town”.
8. Aperol Spritz
Picture perfect with a low-abv and distinctive flavour to match, the Aperol Spritz is popular in venues and on social media alike, taking the world by storm about a decade ago.
With the aperitivo moment remaining ever popular, and the drinking occasion creeping earlier and earlier into the day, the serve has been able to dovetail with a number of drinking trends – such as moderation and a desire for lighter flavours – that are prevalent today.
The drink’s main ingredient was created by brothers Luigi and Silvio Barbieri, presented to the Padua International Fair in 1919, and its signature serve – three parts prosecco, two parts Aperol and one part soda – came later, in the ’50s, according to the brand.
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However, the Spritz was around before that, and in the manner it provided a template for this Aperol drink, it did the same for various other ingredients, such as Campari and limoncello.
Another popular Spritz, The Hugo, a mid-2000s creation by bartender Roland Gruber, goes one step further, originally combining prosecco, soda and mint with lemon balm syrup, although today elderflower tends to replace the latter.
7. Dry Martini
With classics such as the Whiskey Sour appearing to have come on to the scene ready to go, remaining unchanged over the years since inception, others have moved at a slower pace, taking their time to present themselves as the classic we know today.
The Dry Martini is one such classic. Those first drinkers of a Martini or Martinez would’ve had sweet vermouth in their glasses as opposed to dry, and the spirit was likely Old Tom gin, rather than London Dry. Now this was certainly a delightful drink, but a far cry from the elegantly simple Dry Martini that we know and love today.
Skipping the so-called Martinis of the ’80s, there is an array of drinks that adapt, but subtly, the fundamentals of the Dry Martini, both new and old. A recent case in point is the Clay cocktail from London bar Dram, where, in order to create a dry gin Martini serve, and rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, the Martini is rested on a bed of clay for a week before being served ice cold as a house Martini.
6. Whiskey Sour
It’s safe to say the Whiskey Sour is one of the most widely adored and durable sours. While there were once many, and still are, this classic in particular has proved its staying power. It’s especially impressive how the cocktail – a combination of whiskey, sugar and lemon juice – has changed over its history. While egg white has become a more common addition over the years, today’s versions tend to be pretty faithful to the drink that was being made in the mid-1800s.
While it may be a sturdy classic, the Whiskey Sour is not without its share of riffs. For renowned contemporary takes, this list paints quite the picture with the Penicillin in 12th place this year, followed by the Amaretto Sour in 15th.
Not the only variations, some noteworthy takes are the New York Sour, with its red wine float, and the Gold Rush, a contemporary of the Penicillin made with bourbon, lemon juice and honey.
5. Daiquiri
A classic such as the Daiquiri is steeped in history, but it’s not been immune to variations over the years as the precise story of its origins is tricky to pinpoint. The cocktail has made it to the 21st century with some questionable and brightly-coloured incarnations along the way.
Its origin story is not without its theories, with some dating the Daiquiri as far back as the late 1800s, but the details seem lost to the mists of time. However, the fact of the matter is, when it’s done right, there’s nothing quite like this seemingly-simple combination of rum, lime and sugar.
As a result, it’s no surprise the best variations on this, such as the Hemingway Daiquiri, have become classics in their own right. Audrey Saunders’ Old Cuban is a more recent example, from the mid-2000s, which introduces mint and champagne, while Kevin Armstrong’s Dry Daiquiri, from a similar time period, adds Campari and passion fruit syrup. Both these takes on the original are testament to the legacy of the Daiquiri.
4. Espresso Martini
An ever-popular choice, reflected in its top 10 position for another year, the Espresso Martini is one of many gifts to the cocktail world by the late, great Dick Bradsell. One of the most prevalent of his creations at the moment, the earliest version was created by Bradsell in the ’80s, at the Soho Brasserie on Old Compton Street in London. The creation came as a response to a request from a young woman for “something that’s gonna wake me up, then fuck me up”.
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The Espresso Martini most certainly does all that. It’s a deceptively simple classic that has also become the perfect template for an array of variations. The cocktail’s continued rise in popularity in the drinks world is partly responsible for the vibrant coffee liqueur category at the moment, which has arguably led to improved versions of the classic. It’s not the only coffee classic to feature on the list – back again following its debut last year and increasingly found on cocktail menus is the Carajillo at 50.
3. Margarita
With iterations spanning everything from the delicious to the ridiculous, the Margarita is universal in nature. The tequila-based classic is, at its heart, beautifully simple, much like the pre-Prohibition drink that likely inspired it. The Daisy is a combination of spirit, lime juice and orange liqueur or grenadine. The tequila version then became known due to the Spanish word for ‘daisy’ being ‘margarita’, which in turn became a byword for sunshine and good times the world over.
In today’s world, it tends to be the more renewed takes on the Margarita that are seeing a rise, with the Mezcal Margarita returning to the list for another year. Agave-focused bars continue to create new takes, with London’s Hacha most recently introducing its Jack Fruit Mirror Margarita.
2. Old Fashioned
Believe it or not, there was a time back in the mid-to-late 1800s when the art of the cocktail was somewhat too fancy for some people’s tastes. What was once a cocktail specification of spirit, sugar, water and bitters was becoming more complicated and starting to include garnish ingredients such as maraschino liqueur or even absinthe. Disagreeing with this early days experimentation, and as if in protest, cocktail conservatives demanded their drinks be made the old-fashioned way, hence the birth of this classic.
By definition, the Old Fashioned is unfussy and gets right to the point, so it’s fitting that one of the best modern takes follows suit and is similarly unpretentious. The Oaxacan Old Fashioned, attributed to New York bartender Phil Ward, circa 2007, revisits each ingredient and gives them a Mexican twist. To create the modern take, whiskey becomes tequila and mezcal, and sugar is replaced with agave, leaving some room for interpretation when it comes to bitters – Ward kept it simple with classic Angostura. The result is considerate to the ethos of the original, but also something entirely different.
1. Negroni
The aperitivo clearly isn’t going anywhere. The Italian influence on the global bar scene remains, with the Negroni securing the top spot for the fourth time and Aperol Spritz in eighth position for another year running.
The classic Negroni cocktail is steeped in heritage and its popularity is greater today than ever. Made with equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari, it’s punchy and bold by nature, and due to the bitters can often be quite an acquired taste, yet it prevails. There are plenty of easier-drinking cocktails on this list, but unapologetically bold with depth and complexity, the Negroni is an undisputed classic, and easy to reproduce too.
With a contested history, the Negroni is a descendant of the Americano – sweet vermouth and Campari lengthened with soda water – and the Milano Torino before it, without soda water. The most common Negroni origin story is of an eponymous Italian count walking into a bar and ordering a boozier Americano, so the bartender drops the soda and adds gin, creating the Negroni. The bartender was supposedly Fosco Scarselli at Caffè Casoni in Florence around 1919.
Being a twist on a classic itself, the Negroni has proven adaptable over the years, with bartenders swapping out any and all of its trio of ingredients to create new drinks and expand on the definition of a Negroni – it’s become more than just a cocktail. Among the most revolutionary is the White Negroni in all its forms, but there’s a near-endless array of versions made with spirits such as tequila, mezcal and rum. One noteworthy variant, created in the 1970s and further popularised via TikTok in recent times, is attributed to Milan bartender Mirko Stocchetto. It’s said that while reaching for the gin for a Negroni, he accidentally grabbed a bottle of prosecco instead, creating a Spritz-like variant that has become known as the Negroni Sbagliato.
