11 Cocktails You Have To Try

These days, it can be hard to tell the difference between the name of a cocktail and the name of an adult movie star, and with the list of both seemingly growing exponentially, we’re here to help you navigate your way through almost any drinks menu with confidence and ease. (As for the adult movies, you’re on your own!)

Some of these are classics, and some are comparatively new, but the ingredients are common enough to make them easy to whip up just about anywhere.

Bottoms up!

1) Bramble

Sweet, crisp, and refreshing, a Bramble is a perfect drink any time of year, but particularly during blackberry season, when you can get fresh berries for garnish. Be sure to invest in a good quality gin for optimal enjoyment.

Ingredients:
1 oz gin
1 teaspoon sugar syrup
1/2 oz blackberry liqueur
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
Blackberries for garnish
A few cubes of ice

Directions:

Pour all ingredients in a highball glass and stir for about ten seconds. Simple as that!

2) Mint Julep

Here’s a classic recipe that’s become almost synonymous with hot days, porch swings and magnolia trees. Packing a lot of punch, you probably want to sip slowly.

Ingredients:
2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
½ oz of water
3-4 mint leaves
Crushed cubes of ice

Directions:

Grab a highball glass and muddle (grind) the mint, sugar, and water at the bottom. Fill the glass about 3/4 full with ice, add the bourbon and then stir. For added flair, garnish with a little mint on top.

3) Fuzzy Navel

Another classic that is super easy to make. The combination of peach schnapps and orange juice make it particularly ideal (and dangerous!) if you want an alcoholic drink that doesn’t taste like alcohol.

Ingredients:
2 oz peach schnapps
2 oz orange juice, cold
A few ice cubes (optional)

Directions:

In a lowball glass, combine the ingredients together, stir for ten seconds and enjoy the sweet taste of summer.

4) Kamikaze

This bevy is as crazy good as it sounds, so if you have a sense of adventure, give it a spin.

Ingredients:
1 oz vodka
1 oz Triple Sec
1 oz lime juice
1 oz crushed ice
Lime wedge

Directions:

Pour all the ingredients into a shaker and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Strain and pour into a martini glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

5) Salty Dog

Made with either gin or vodka, a Salty Dog combines the sweet kick of grapefruit juice with a signature salted rim glass.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 oz of vodka or gin
1 1/3 oz grapefruit juice
Plate sprinkled with salt
Crushed ice

Directions:

Combine the booze, juice and ice into a shaker. Shake for 10 seconds. Wet the rim of a highball glass with a lemon or lime wedge and rub the rim into the salted plate until it is coated in salt. Strain and pour the drink into the glass. That’s it!

6) Moscow Mule

This inspired drink is a wake up call for your taste buds, combining vodka, spicy ginger beer, lime juice and a wedge of lime. Easy to make and relatively unheard of, this is a great drink to order if you want to impress (and perplex) your pals.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz vodka
3/4 cup spicy ginger beer
1 teaspoon lime juice
Lime wedge
A few ice cubes

Directions:

Pour all ingredients into a highball glass (or better yet, the signature Moscow Mule copper cup), and stir. Slap on that lime wedge as garnish and prepare to be delighted.

7) The Snow Ball

Perfectly pink and absolutely delicious, the Snow Ball is a trendy new drink that’s easy to make and sure to delight.

Ingredients:
1 oz coconut vodka
3 oz Hpnotiq Harmonie
Shredded coconut
A few ice cubes

Directions:

Rim the lowball glass with shredded coconut, then combine the booze and ice and stir gently.

8) Raspberry Le Flor

This drink tastes even better than it looks, combining raspberry vodka with elderflower liqueur, sugar and lemon juice for a whimsically enchanting drink.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz raspberry vodka
1/2 oz elderflower liqueur
1/2 oz lemon juice
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
5 raspberries
Crushed ice

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker and shake. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with raspberries.

9) Cherry Coke

Looking for a boozy take on your childhood favourite? It’s as simple as combining two of your liquid loves.

Ingredients:
2 oz Grand Marnier Cherry
3/4 cup cola
A few cubes of ice

Directions:

Put ice in a highball glass. Add cola and booze, stir and enjoy! Classic, simple and sweet.

10) The Brain Freeze

Who doesn’t love freezies? Now you can drink them, and get an added kick.

Ingredients:
5 small freezies
2 oz vodka

Directions:

Squeeze the freezies out of their plastic and into a lowball glass. Add the vodka. Stir gently until you have a slightly chunky slushy consistency. Drink before it melts!