These Are the 10 Best Cocktails in the World, According to 22,000 Drinkers
What’s your favorite?
Ranker keeps digging into booze usage, a.k.a. America’s national pastime, and coming up with some fascinating results. Also results that could be used to excuse one hell of a bar crawl, if you were feeling extra brave.
Recently the site surveyed the favorite tequila brands of 10,000 tequila lovers and discovered some surprising things. Then Ranker followed that up with an even more intriguing question: “What’s your favorite cocktail?”
It’s the kind of thing that could start some arguments, too, as cocktail preference is even more individual than liquor brand preference. Not actual fistfights, though, as there’s something inherently elegant in the idea of the cocktail—the very name suggests civilized behavior. Up to a point, anyway.
Here are the 10 winners, beginning at the bottom. Let’s see if your fave made the grade—and this might give you some new ideas as well.
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10. Caipirinha: The national drink of Brazil is a damn tasty cocktail made with cachaça (rum’s distant and intense Brazilian cousin), sugar, and lime.
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9. Mai Tai: Apparently your grandma’s favorite dinner drink has a bigger fan base than anyone knew. We kid! This mix of Curaçao liqueur, lime juice and tiny umbrellas has never just been for retirees, as anyone who’s ever been drunk in Hawaii will tell you.
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8. Daiquiri: With its mix of rum, just about any decent citrus fruit and sugar, the Daiquiri is a true timeless classic that has the advantage of seeming way too civilized to ever fuel a bar brawl.
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7. Martini: Come on, shaken, stirred, or pumped in with an IV, the martini (gin, vermouth, an olive and maybe a lemon twist) will never not make you feel a little like James (or Jane) Bond.
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6. White Russian: Vodka, coffee liqueur, and cream on the rocks and you are just one degree of cocktail separation from the Dude in Big Lebowski. What more do you need?
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5. Manhattan: This mix of sweet vermouth, whiskey, and bitters has a yankee name but it may taste the best when the core ingredient is some good old Tennessee-made liquor. Just don’t tell Manhattanites.
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4. Bloody Mary: This blend of spice, tomato juice, and vodka doesn’t sound appealing to the neophyte drinker, but the Bloody Mary is undeniably awesome, just ask the hangover hordes at brunch this weekend.
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3. Long Island Iced Tea: This perennial favorite for anyone who wants to have a blackout at TGI Friday’s contains no tea at all, but it is often made up of tequila, vodka, light rum, triple sec, and gin. And believe me, that’s a lineup that can steamroll you, so sip wisely.
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2. Mojito: It’s probably a surprise the Mojito is this high up on the list of faves—it’s a drink best made by a talented bartender, as it usually contains rum, sugar, lime juice, sparkling water, and mint. Then again, after you’ve had three or four you won’t actually care as much about how well-mixed it is.
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1. Margarita: Of course everyone’s number one go-to drink for Cinco de Mayo is, well, number one. There’s something accessible about the margarita, which is usually made of tequila, triple sec and lime. That’s why it often seems like the favorite cocktail for people who don’t usually drink cocktails. But be warned, if the bartender doesn’t know how to make a killer version, margs can totally suck. But in that case, just order a shot of tequila.