24 Classic Cocktails You Need to Know How to Make

Knowing how to make classic cocktails is important. There's only one problem: There are a lot of them. Unless you're a bartender, there's no way you'll remember what goes into a Sazerac or the proportions of a Moscow mule. Lucky for you, we've rounded up the 24 most important stalwart drinks to know how to make, from a Manhattan to a daiquiri to a simple whiskey on the rocks. Check them out and get shaking (and stirring).
Photograph by Emma Fishman, Food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Martha Bernabe1/25Extra-Dry Martini
Gin or vodka? Stanley Tucci’s martini recipe allows for either, depending on your mood. Just make sure it’s stirred, never shaken.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones2/25Negroni
Adjust the classic proportions of the gin, vermouth, and Campari in a negroni cocktail recipe for this updated version from London’s Chiltern Firehouse.
Heidi's Bridge3/25BA's Best Old-Fashioned
The original whiskey cocktail, a great old-fashioned recipe is all about simplicity, ingredients, and technique.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman4/25Moscow Mule
With spicy ginger beer, vodka, and lime juice, a Moscow Mule is a cocktail for all seasons—and one that’s remarkably easy to prepare at home.
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Judy Mancini5/25Margarita, No Triple Sec
This version of everyone's favorite tequila cocktail loses the orange liqueur for a drier, more spirit-forward take on the drink.
Ted Cavanaugh6/25Sidecar
There’s a simple structure behind all sours, a family of citrus-based cocktails.
7/25Classic Whiskey Smash
This drink is just as refreshing when made with gin, vodka, or rum. To watch a video of Andrew Knowlton making this classic cocktail, click here.
8/25Sloe Gin
Sloe gin, used in this drink from Josephine House, Austin, is a liqueur made by steeping sloe berries (sour wild plums) in gin with some sugar.
Alex Lau9/25New-New Bloody Mary
Our favorite Bloody Mary is an instant classic. Great-quality tomato juice, bright lemon juice, savory Worcestershire, and a tangy hot sauce deliver on all fronts.
10/25Boulevardier
Named for The Boulevardier magazine, this Prohibition-era cocktail was a favorite among American expatriates living in Paris.
11/25Gin and Tonic
The Gin and Tonic is swinging again, thanks to new distillers who have made gin cool. And it doesn't get more classic than this recipe.
12/25Spiced Dark and Stormy
The longer the spices infuse in the rum, the more flavorful this dark and stormy will be.
13/25Sazerac
Mix this New Orleans classic hours ahead of time, says Andrew Volk, of Maine's Portland Hunt & Alpine Club, and serving it is as simple as pouring a pitcher of lemonade.
14/25Joly’s Pisco Sour
"More great expressions of pisco are making their way into the States, with a huge array of flavor profiles, from rustic and edgy, to delicate and floral. La Diablada is cool stuff." —Charles Joly, bartender, The Aviary, Chicago

16/25The Vespa
Martini drinker? Try this Italian take on the Vesper, which uses the slightly sweet aperitif Cocchi Americano.
Peden & Munk17/25Daiquiri, Up-Rocks
This daiquiri recipe is served up-rocks in an elegant coupe and has nothing to do with the slushy, syrupy cocktails you’ll find at swim-up bars.

Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano. Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan and Molly Longwell19/25Mojito
On a sweltering summer evening, nothing hits quite like this minty mojito cocktail recipe. Don’t over-muddle your mint, which can cause bitterness.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht20/25Cosmopolitan
We will avoid all Sex and the City references here, but the fact remains: This cocktail is classic for a reason.
Matt Duckor21/25Pour Over Irish Coffee
They use a pour over coffee method, pouring the whiskey and water over the coffee right at the bar.
Juco22/25Tom Collins Bar
Aside from banana, we can’t think of a fruit that wouldn’t be good in this drink.
Peden & Munk23/25Batched Manhattan
It just may be the perfect cocktail—especially when you can make it (and serve it) in bulk.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman24/25French 75
The French 75 is that rare creature of a cocktail: elegant enough to make it feel as if you’re in Paris on New Year’s Eve but supremely simple to assemble.
Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski25/25Aperol Spritz
This classic combo should be credited with starting the whole spritz phenomenon in the United States.