What Are Some of the Best Types of Cocktails?

The term “cocktail” was coined in 1806 in the Hudson, New York “The Balance and Columbian Repository.” However, it takes bartenders of exceptional charisma and legend to create the types of cocktails.

The father of Bartending, Jerry “Professor” Thomas, was one such man, who created the oldest surviving compendium of cocktail recipes.

Cocktail Classics

Classic cocktails are around because while they’re old, they only seem to improve with age. Curated recipes and personal tweaks of a well-trained and experienced bartender cannot be beaten. Neither can these famous cocktails.

Short Cocktail Classics

There are few classic short cocktails as famous as the Old Fashioned. It’s still one of the most commonly ordered cocktails around, even after debuting in 1880. This is one 140-year-old concoction with staying power.

White Russians are another classic favorite, made with Vodka, Kahlúa, and heavy cream. Believed to have first been mixed in the 1960s when someone added cream to a Black Russian. We have its tastiness and The Big Lebowski to thank for the popularity of this drink.

When it comes to making a cocktail, these kinds of cocktails are always a winner.

High Cocktail Classics

The Tom Collins is probably a prohibition-era classic, with sweet and sour flavors that entice almost everyone. Made with gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and soda, it’s an instant classic.

Specialty Cocktails

Specialty cocktails came into vogue during the time after WW2 and comprise some of the newest and funkiest concoctions. Although, not all, as you’ll see, came around in the ’50s or ’60s.

A lot of experimentation is going on the past few years blowing the roof off of some mouths. Take for example this tea infused gin cocktail, the Bubble Dream.

Blended Cocktails

A Daquiri is a kind of cocktail that is blended with ice, into a kind of grown-up version of an alcoholic slushi. It comes in a variety of rum-enhanced flavors such as strawberry and pineapple as a Strawberry Daquiri and Piña Colada.

Hot Cocktails

A Hot Toddy might be one of the most recognized hot cocktails, with a Hot Buttered Rum directly behind it. One of the best coffee drinks is Irish Coffee. An egg nog variation is a Tom and Jerry.

Shooters

A Grasshopper or Springbok will get you going. What’s the difference? A grasshopper is créme de menthe, créme de cacao, and light cream in a shot glass. A Springbok is a South African shooter of layered créme de menthe and Amarula cream.

Amarula is a liqueur from South Africa made from the fruit of the Marula tree. Truly a treat unlike you’ve had before.

Mocktails: The Non-Alcoholic Cocktail

Alcohol drinkers aren’t the only ones to have all the fun. Things have certainly moved on from Shirley Temples and Roy Rogers drinks you may have had as a kid. Virtually any drink can be replicated in a virgin version.

The best replications tend to be fruity drinks like a Mai-Tai or Daquiri variant.

All The Flavors of the Rainbow: Types of Cocktails

The types of cocktails and mixes are truly endless and wonderful. Of course, one of the best things is that you can’t try them all at once. You must go back for more.

As always, drinking responsibly is an important part of enjoying cocktails.

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