The top 10 most popular cocktails around the world, do they include your favorite?

The international liquor website Drink International conducts a survey every year in top bars around the world and ranks the most popular classic cocktails. The 2024 list has recently been released, so let's see which cocktails made it to the list this year and which one have you tried?

TOP 10:Moscow Mule

The birth of the Moscow Mule is inevitably tied to three individuals: Jack Morgan, John Martin, and Rudolph Kunett. Jack was the owner of the famous Hollywood restaurant, Cock'n Bull, John owned a vodka distributor, and Rudolph was John's employee.

One night in 1946, the three men ended up in a bar venting about their problems: Jack was worried about poor sales of his ginger beer, John had a surplus of copper mugs in storage, and Rudolph was concerned about subpar vodka sales.

Spitting ideas back and forth, a spark of inspiration hit them: why not combine their three woes? So, they decided to mix Rudolph's vodka with Jack's ginger beer and serve it in a copper mug as a marketing gimmick.

This cocktail turned out to be a hit and it made history in the world of mixology. This year's Moscow Mule has maintained its position at number ten on the list.

Ingredients: Vodka 50ml Lemon juice 20ml Syrup 10ml Ginger beer or soda water

TOP 9:Paloma

Paloma means "dove" in Spanish, so sometimes this cocktail is translated as "white dove" or simply as "dove."

The creator of this cocktail is unknown since many cocktail discoveries happen serendipitously with whatever ingredients are at hand. However, some credit the inception of Paloma to legendary bartender Don Javier Delgado Corona.

This year, Paloma has climbed four spots from last year, mainly due to the growing popularity of tequila.

Ingredients: Tequila 60ml Lemon juice 15ml Grapefruit soda 120ml

TOP 8:Aperol Spritz

Aperol, the star ingredient in the Aperol Spritz, was created in Italy in 1919 and is now produced by Campari. It's an apéritif with a herbal flavor profile, made with a variety of botanical ingredients.

In the 1950s, Aperol Spritz started to gain popularity in Italy and gradually became a national beverage. After Campari Group's acquisition of Aperol in 2003, it was marketed as the perfect drink for social occasions.

The simplicity, refreshment, and bright color of this drink could be the reasons behind its popularity.

Ingredients: Aperol 60ml Prosecco 90ml A splash of soda water

TOP 7:Dry Martini

When thinking of cocktails, many people might imagine men and women in a bar, holding triangular stemmed glasses, enjoying their drinks. That image is often a martini.

The preparation of a martini is quite simple, requiring only two enthralling base ingredients, giving mixologists great latitude to express their creativity.

It’s a classic cocktail that cannot be straightjacketed into a fixed recipe; even with the same formula, the mix of ingredients can lead to numerous variations.

Ingredients: Dry Gin 75ml Vermouth 15ml Olive or lemon peel

TOP 6:Whisky Sour

For beginners, a Whisky Sour could definitely be considered one of the most approachable first cocktails. It's a low-threshold drink that rarely receives complaints about its taste.

Actually, this congenial cocktail has existed for over 150 years. The simple method is to mix bourbon with lemon juice and syrup, but a more complex variation includes adding egg white to make the texture even creamier.

Ingredients: Bourbon whisky 45ml Lemon juice 30ml Syrup 15ml

TOP 5:Daiquiri

Despite the Daiquiri's delicate and feminine-sounding name, its origins are decidedly virile, being created by an American engineer named Jennings S. Cox who was working in the mines of southern Cuba.

The hot climate and airless working conditions in the mines made the workers uncomfortable. They concocted a relief by mixing staple Cuban rum with readily available green limes and sugar, shaking it well to create a refreshing and energizing drink that was the Daiquiri’s predecessor.

As times have changed, the Daiquiris we commonly enjoy in bars today often include various fruits and flavored syrups to add complexity to the taste.

Ingredients: White rum 50ml Lemon juice 20ml Syrup 15ml

TOP 4:Espresso Martini

The Espresso Martini, among the countless variations of Martinis, stands out as one of the finest and has been gaining popularity year after year, benefiting from the current trend of "day coffee night cocktails."

Who wouldn't want a cocktail in the afternoon that both intoxicates and invigorates?

Ingredients: Vodka 50ml Coffee liqueur 10ml Espresso 1 shot Sugar syrup to taste

TOP 3:Margarita

The Margarita comes with a romantic and melancholic backstory. It is said that the story began in 1949, and the Margarita was the first-prize winner in a national cocktail competition in the United States.

The bartender who concocted the Margarita, John, only revealed many years later in an interview that the cocktail was a tribute to his first love, Margarita.

As young lovers on a hunting trip, Margarita was tragically struck by a stray bullet and died in John's arms from blood loss. Overwhelmed with regret, John channeled his grief into creating this cocktail, naming it in Margarita's memory.

Ingredients: Tequila 50ml Orange liqueur 20ml Lemon juice 20ml

TOP 2:Old Fashioned

In the mid-19th century, for a time, the extravagant way cocktails were prepared was too much for some, and the earliest cocktails were made by simply mixing spirits with sugar, water, and a bit of bitters.

Thus, the Old Fashioned was born. It was the result of cocktail aficionados requesting their drinks be made in the traditional manner, a practice that has continued and remains popular to this day.

Ingredients: Whisky 60ml A sugar cube A few dashes of bitters

TOP 1:Negroni

The top spot this year is taken by the Negroni. Said to have originated in 1919, when an Italian returning from the US asked the bartender to strengthen his favorite cocktail, the Americano, by replacing the soda water with gin, the bartender gladly complied and also switched the traditional lemon garnish for an orange peel, giving birth to what is now known as the Negroni.

Ingredients: Gin 30ml Sweet vermouth 30ml Campari 30ml