We've compiled a list of the 29 best Bartender drink recipes. We divided the cocktails into four different categories. From classics, modern and tiki cocktails to signature cocktails from world-renowned Bartenders, we include the best alcoholic cocktails for everyone's taste.
Best Bartender Drink Recipes for Classic Cocktails
Did you know that most cocktails are based on seven classic cocktails? That's right! Once you’ve learned how to make these cocktails you'll learn how to make almost any cocktail.
1. Manhattan
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz rye whiskey
- 1/2 oz sweet red vermouth
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
How it's made:
Pour all of the ingredients into a shaker or mixing glass filled with ice cubes. Then, stir it and strain it into a chilled cocktail glass. Finish off by garnishing with a cherry.
2. Negroni
Ingredients:
- 1 oz gin
- 1 oz Campari bitter
- 1 oz sweet red vermouth
How it's made:
Pour the ingredients into a chilled old-fashioned glass with ice and stir gently.
3. Martini
Ingredients:
- 2 oz gin
- 1/2 oz dry vermouth
How it's made:
Pour ingredients into a shaker or mixing glass filled with ice cubes. Stir well and pour them into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with green olives or squeeze oil from lemon peel onto the drink.
4. The Old Fashioned
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 bourbon or rye whiskey
- 1 sugar cube
- 1-2 dashes Angostura bitters
- Splash of plain water
How it's made:
Put a sugar cube in an old-fashioned glass and saturate it with bitters. Add a couple of dashes of plain water, and muddle until dissolved.
Then, fill the glass with ice cubes, add whiskey and stir gently. Garnish it with a cocktail cherry and an orange zest or slice.
5. Margarita
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz tequila (100% agave)
- 1/2 oz triple sec
- 1/2 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
How it's made
Pour ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish half the glass rim with salt (optional).
6. Daiquiri
Ingredients:
- 2 oz white Cuban rum
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 2 bar spoons superfine sugar
How it's made:
Put all of the ingredients in a shaker. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Then, add ice to the shaker, shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
7. Mai-Tai
Ingredients:
- 1 oz Jamaican amber rum
- 1 oz dark rum
- 1/2 oz orange Curacao
- 1/2 oz orgeat syrup (almond)
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/4 oz simple syrup
- Mint leaves, lime peel, pineapple sugar (for garnish)
How it's made:
Pour all ingredients into an ice-filled shaker. Shake and pour into a highball glass or a double rocks glass. Garnish with mint leaves, lime peel and pineapple spear.
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Popular Modern Cocktails
Most cocktails you see on today's menus were invented in the '90s and early 2000s. Here are some of the most popular contemporary cocktails:
8. Sex on the Beach
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz vodka
- 1/2 oz peach schnapps
- 1 1/2 oz fresh orange juice
- 1 1/2 oz cranberry juice
How it's made:
Pour all ingredients into an ice-filled highball glass and garnish with a half orange slice.
9. Cosmopolitan
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz citron vodka
- 1/2 oz Cointreau
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 1 oz cranberry juice
How it's made:
Pour all ingredients into an ice-filled shaker. Shake and strain into a large cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
10. Bloody Mary
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz vodka
- 3 oz tomato juice
- 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
- 2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- Tabasco, celery salt, pepper (up to taste)
How it's made:
Pour ingredients into a mixing glass or shaker filled with ice. Stir gently and pour into a rocks glass. Garnish with celery and a lemon wedge.
11. Long Island Iced Tea
Ingredients:
- 1/2 oz vodka
- 1/2 oz tequila
- 1/2 oz white rum
- 1/2 oz gin
- 1/2 oz Cointreau
- 1 oz lemon juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- Splash of cola
How it's made:
Pour all ingredients into an ice-filled highball glass and stir gently. Garnish with a lemon slice.
12. Mojito
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz white Cuban rum
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
- 6 pcs mint sprigs
- 2 tsp white cane sugar
- Soda water
How it's made:
Mix mint springs with lime juice and sugar. Pour a splash of soda water and fill the glass with ice.
Pour the white rum and top the glass with soda water. Stir gently to mix all ingredients.
Finish off by garnishing with a slice of lime and springs of mint.
13. Moscow Mule
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Smirnoff vodka
- 4 oz ginger beer
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
How it's made:
Combine the vodka and ginger beer in a rocks glass or mule cup. Then, add the lime juice and gently stir. Finish off with a lime slice garnish.
14. Piña Colada
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz white rum
- 1 oz coconut cream
- 1 1/2 oz fresh pineapple juice
How it's made:
Place all of the ingredients plus ice in a blender. Pour into a large glass and serve with two straws. Garnish with a cocktail cherry and a slice of pineapple.
15. Tequila Sunrise
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz tequila
- 3 oz fresh orange juice
- 1/2 oz grenadine syrup
How it's made:
Pour the tequila and orange juice into an ice-filled highball glass. Add the grenadine slowly to create the "sunrise" effect. Garnish with orange zest or a half slice of orange.
16. Sea Breeze
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz vodka
- 4 oz cranberry juice
- 1 oz grapefruit juice
How it's made:
Pour all ingredients into an ice-filled highball glass. Garnish with a cherry and orange zest.
17. Cuba Libre
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz white rum
- 4 oz Coca Cola
- 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
How it's made:
Pour ingredients into an ice-filled highball glass and garnish with a lime wedge.
18. Amaretto Sour Mix
Ingredients:
- 2 oz amaretto
- 1 oz lemon juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 1/2 oz egg white
How it's made:
Add the amaretto liquor, lemon juice and simple syrup in a shaker and shake them well. Then, add the egg white and shake some more.
Fill the shake with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with a lemon wedge.
19. Caipirinha
Ingredients:
- 2 oz cachaça
- 1 lime cut into small wedges
- 4 tsp white cane sugar
How it's made:
Place sugar and lime in a double old-fashioned glass. Muddle it gently, and fill the glass with cracked ice. Add the cachaça and stir gently to mix the ingredients.
20. Black Russian
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz vodka
- 1/2 oz coffee liqueur
How it's made:
Pour both ingredients into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice and stir gently.
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Best Bartender Drink Recipes for Summer Refreshers
These drinks are light, cooling and perfect for warm weather. They rely on fresh ingredients and simple builds that Bartenders can prepare quickly.
21. Cucumber Gin Cooler
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz gin
- 4–5 cucumber slices
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- Soda water
How it’s made:
Muddle cucumber in a shaker, add gin, lime juice and simple syrup. Shake with ice, strain into a glass with fresh ice and top with soda water.
22. Watermelon Mojito
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz white rum
- 4–5 watermelon chunks
- 6–8 mint leaves
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 1/2 oz lime juice
- Soda water
How it’s made:
Muddle watermelon and mint, add rum, lime and syrup. Shake lightly, pour into a glass with ice and top with soda water.
23. Pineapple Spritz
Ingredients:
- 2 oz prosecco
- 1 oz pineapple juice
- 1 oz Aperol
- Splash of soda water
How it’s made:
Combine Aperol and pineapple juice in a glass with ice. Add prosecco, top with soda water and stir gently.
Best Bartender Drink Recipes for Parties and Gatherings
These cocktails are reliable crowd-pleasers, easy to scale and ideal for serving large groups quickly.
24. Whiskey Ginger Punch
Ingredients:
- 6 oz whiskey
- 12 oz ginger beer
- 2 oz lime juice
- 3–4 dashes bitters
How it’s made:
Mix whiskey, lime and bitters in a pitcher. Add ginger beer just before serving over ice.
25. Red Sangria
Ingredients:
- 1 bottle red wine
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup brandy
- Sliced oranges and berries
- Splash of soda water
How it’s made:
Combine wine, juice, brandy and fruit in a pitcher. Chill 2+ hours. Add soda water before serving.
Best Bartender Drink Recipes Using Simple Ingredients
These cocktails use two to four ingredients but still deliver clean, balanced flavor—perfect for speed or minimal prep.
26. Classic Vodka Soda
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz vodka
- Soda water
- Lime wedge
How it’s made:
Pour vodka over ice, top with soda water and garnish with lime.
27. Three-Ingredient Daiquiri
Ingredients:
- 2 oz white rum
- 1 oz lime juice
- 3/4 oz simple syrup
How it’s made:
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled coupe.
28. Whiskey Highball
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz whiskey
- Soda water
How it’s made:
Add whiskey to a highball glass with ice and top with cold soda water.
29. Aperol Soda
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Aperol
- Soda water
How it’s made:
Fill a glass with ice, add Aperol and top with soda water.
Best Bartender Drink Recipes: Conclusion
Whether you prefer time-honored classics or fresh, inventive mixtures, having a well-rounded set of easy Bartender recipes ensures you’re prepared for any guest or occasion.
Thanks to these tried-and-true recipes — from refreshing summer sippers to crowd-pleasing party drinks and minimalist two-ingredient staples — you can confidently build a versatile cocktail menu.
With proper technique, consistency and a little creativity, even simple ingredients can deliver drinks that delight guests and keep your bar busy.
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