Classic Cocktails, Ranked

Ranked #1 on Drinks International's Bestselling Classic Cocktails list for the third consecutive year in 2024, its punchy bitterness outselling every easier-drinking rival at the world's best bars.

Placed #2 on the 2024 Drinks International bar poll and is consistently a top-selling whiskey classic; the drink that literally defined the word 'cocktail' in the 19th century.

The #1 cocktail in U.S. on-premise sales per CGA by NielsenIQ, with a velocity roughly four times the next drink, and #3 on the global Drinks International poll.

Gin, lemon, and Champagne is celebration in a glass. Effervescent, elegant, and impossible to dislike; equally at home at brunch or midnight. A universally beloved crowd-pleaser that earns the top tier.

Ranked #4 on the 2024 Drinks International list, and CGA data showed its U.S. sales velocity rocketing 116% year-on-year in Q3 2024, one of the fastest-growing drinks of the decade.

Placed #5 on the 2024 Drinks International bar poll; the three-ingredient rum sour is a bartender benchmark and an IBA 'Unforgettable' classic.

Ranked #6 on the 2024 Drinks International list, cementing the sour template as one of the most-ordered classics at the world's top bars.

Placed #7 on the 2024 Drinks International poll; the archetypal 'cocktail' in popular imagination and an IBA official cocktail, though it trails the modern sweet-and-bitter favorites in raw volume.

The definitive tiki cocktail. Trader Vic's 1944 rum-forward classic with orgeat and lime is complex, balanced, and iconic; the gold standard against which all tropical drinks are judged. Just below the essential canon.

Gin and lime cordial at its purest. Clean, sharp, and endlessly refreshing; a true bartender's classic with naval roots. Simple enough to be perfect, restrained enough to never bore.

Ranked #8 on the 2024 Drinks International list and a global summer phenomenon, though CGA data shows heavy seasonal swings (2nd most valuable U.S. cocktail in Q2 but 10th by Q3).

Placed #12 on the 2024 Drinks International poll; a pre-Prohibition icon and IBA 'Unforgettable' that remains a top-15 bar staple.

A split verdict that lands it here: #13 on the Drinks International bar poll but the 2nd most valuable cocktail in U.S. outlets per CGA, posting a 37% year-over-year sales jump in Q3 2024.

A rye-cognac-vermouth New Orleans masterpiece with Benedictine and Peychaud's bitters. Rich and layered, a connoisseur's favorite, but its complexity and obscurity keep it from the wider spotlight.

Gin, lemon, sugar, and soda; the original tall refresher. Timeless and thirst-quenching, but simplicity keeps it a reliable workhorse rather than a showstopper.

Ranked #22 on the 2024 Drinks International list; the whiskey cousin of the Negroni is a respected bartender's pick but well outside the mainstream top tier.

Placed #26 on the 2024 Drinks International poll; a 1920s IBA 'Unforgettable' classic that endures on menus but sits mid-pack in modern demand.

Ranked #29 on the 2024 Drinks International list; the national drink of Puerto Rico and an IBA official cocktail, beloved but often dismissed by serious bars as a sweet tourist staple.

A modern classic from 1980s London: gin, lemon, and a blackberry liqueur drizzle. Pretty and tart, but its recency and niche appeal land it mid-pack among the true legends.

Fell to #41 on the 2024 Drinks International list; once the hottest drink of the 'Sex and the City' era, it is now frequently described as an 'oft-maligned' relic despite recent nostalgia bumps.

Ranked #43 on the 2024 Drinks International poll; a revered New Orleans heritage drink (its official cocktail) that remains a connoisseur order rather than a broad crowd-pleaser.

Absent entirely from the Drinks International top 50 and dismissed by critics as 'an act of mixological atrocity favored by college students and wastrels'; an IBA cocktail by name only, notorious as a ~22% ABV frat-party bomb.