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The 10 Most Popular Cocktails Right Now

Written by
Kathryn Maier
Kathryn Maier is an editor at Liquor.com, where she oversees editing and shaping content related to cocktails, spirits, wine and beer, as well as bars and drinking culture.
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Kathryn Maier
Updated 09/17/20
Aperol Spritz
Aperol Spritz Image:

Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

Cocktails, like everything else in this world, cycle through trends. What was on everyone's Instagram feeds a year or two ago isn't likely to be the same as what people are sipping on today. Even among the classics, drinkers' preferences change in often-unexpected ways. These 10 cocktails are the ones drinkers have been looking up on Liquor.com most frequently over the past year.

  • Bourbon Old Fashioned

    Bourbon Old Fashioned

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    Little more than a slug of whiskey seasoned and sweetened, and yet the embodiment of a cocktail as originally defined, which is to say, a combination of spirit, sugar, water and bitters, this classic remains as popular today as it was 200 years ago.

    Get the recipe.

  • Negroni

    Negroni

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    Easy to make and refreshingly bitter, this combination of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth has launched a thousand riffs. The cocktail, said to have been invented in Florence by an Italian count who requested that a bartender replace the club soda in his Americano with gin, recently celebrated its centennial birthday.

    Get the recipe.

  • Manhattan

    Manhattan cocktail

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    Cocktails don't get any more classic than this elegant mix of rye or bourbon, sweet vermouth and bitters that drinkers have been sipping for close to a century and a half. Garnish with a brandied cherry if you're a traditionalist, or a lemon twist for a more modern touch.

    Get the recipe.

  • Long Island Iced Tea

    Long Island Iced Tea

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    Sometimes elegance and sophistication are thrown to the wind and you simply want a drink that's guaranteed to get the job done. For those times, there's this cocktail, a booze-heavy blend of four different spirits and a liqueur, plus lemon juice and cola. It shouldn't all work together, and yet somehow it does.

    Get the recipe.

    Continue to 5 of 10 below.

  • White Russian

    White Russian

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    Let’s face it, The Dude was on to something with his go-to drink. The now-classic combination of vodka, Kahlúa and heavy cream is as comforting as a cozy winter blanket and couldn't be simpler to make.

    Get the recipe.

  • Margarita

    Margarita

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    Combining tangy lime juice with sweet, orangey triple sec and, of course, the most popular of agave spirits, this drink has become one of the most beloved in the cocktail canon. There are endless riffs, but we think this version, splitting the difference between a Tommy's Margarita and the classic triple sec-heavy version, is the best.

    Get the recipe.

  • Bloody Mary

    Bloody Mary

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    As one of the few cocktails socially acceptable to drink first thing in the morning, the Bloody Mary has a place like no other in drinkers' hearts. Bars and restaurants commonly go crazy with the garnishes, but keeping them simple allows the spicy soul of the drink and its many flavors to shine through.

    Get the recipe.

  • Dirty Martini

    Dirty Martini

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    Briny yet elegant, saline yet simple, the Dirty Martini, which adds a splash of olive brine to the classic Martini format of gin or vodka and dry vermouth, is an eternal go-to for sophisticated sippers.

    Get the recipe.

    Continue to 9 of 10 below.

  • Painkiller

    Painkiller cocktail

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    We wouldn't have guessed this tropical cocktail, a twist on a Piña Colada, would be this popular; perhaps it's because it's one of the less-complicated tropical drinks to make, and among the most rewarding to drink. Simply combine rum, cream of coconut and pineapple and orange juices, and garnish with grated nutmeg and a pineapple wedge. Serving it in a hurricane glass completes the effect.

    Get the recipe.

  • Aperol Spritz

    Aperol Spritz

    Liquor.com / Tim Nusog

    This wildly popular orange aperitivo cocktail has been the unofficial drink of summer for the past several years. All you have to remember in order to make it is 3-2-1: three ounces of prosecco, two of Aperol, and a splash of club soda.

    Get the recipe.