What are some good mixed drinks to order at a bar?
Many people think that mixed drinks are intended only for women, presuming their weakness and easily getting drunk. There is the stereotype that pure alcoholic drinks are only for the true men, who are capable of drinking all night and staying sober. Women should be satisfied with the fruity bar drinks, usually sweet so much that the taste of alcohol is like sprinkled on the top of the sweetness. It went so far, that men avoid ordering a drink which has a sweet juicy taste, afraid of losing their manly attributes. As we wrote in our list of 16 Good Fruity Alcoholic Drinks to Order at a Bar, fruity cocktail drinks are not aimed only at women, so men should not feel the shame of ordering them in a bar.
It is true that both men and women who love to drink alcohol should accept mixed drinks and exchange their usual bar drinks list with one of the top 11 mixed drinks we listed here. There are many reasons for doing that. Firstly, mixed drinks are tasteful yet cheap, thanks to the small amounts of highly expensive drinks they contain. Mixed together, they give a great taste for the favorable price. The other reason could be a fun weekend you can spend with friends at home, making the cocktails and the combinations of your favorite beverage drinks.
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As we will never accept this list as the recommendations which are the best drinks to order at a bar for a woman, we will accept the possibility that these drinks are great for the women and beginners, taking in mind their sweet taste in some cases and low amount of alcohol. However, if you are a beginner, and want to have your favorite alcoholic drink not to be bored in a bar or club, you can also take a look at our list of 11 Sweet Alcoholic Drinks for Beginners and see what is interesting for you there. Sweet drinks could be attractive and tasty for the beginners but basically, everyone can drink them.
However, even though we usually assume that every bartender in the world knows how to mix our favorite drink with the right alcoholic pair or sweet juice, it is not always easy to get it in the bars. Many bartenders are considering draft beer as a basic drink for a bar, presuming that the highest level of their knowledge is correctly dosing the shot of the alcoholic drinks and cutting the lemon which will be placed on the edge of the glass. It is also hard to expect that the bartenders even in expensive and exclusive restaurants have time to mix the right combination during the happy hour or in a crowded club on Saturday night. So, our list should not include the most popular drinks, but more the drinks which are easy to make and can be ordered in practically every bar, according to the user’s experiences.
Thus, our searching for the short list of mixed drinks has started from websites Drinks.SeriusEats, DrinkNation LoveToKnow. Maybe the most interesting approach had Supercall that gave only well-known drinks, which every bartender should know to make. So, whatever your reason for remembering the list of good mixed drinks to order at a bar is, be sure that those we listed here are as much popular as easy to make in every bar.
11. Screwdriver
If you like Vodka, then you will love this simple and very tasty two-ingredient mixed drink. Aside from the great and sweet taste, there is a bright yellow color of this drink to fulfill the picture of the beach behind you while you drinking it up in the crowd at the dreary bar. Plus, literally, every bartender knows how to make it. As the matter of fact, you can also prepare it at home easily, even now, if you have a vodka and orange juice in the freezer. A couple of ice cubes are a great addition, as well as small umbrellas and straws, for the true hedonists. This is a simple but tasty mixed drink for every occasion. And now, let’s see what’s next on our list of good mixed drinks to order at a bar.
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10. Irish coffee
We know that we can put a lot of things in our coffee like milk, cream, or even a butter if you want to lose weight, but why is this coffee called Irish? If you know that one of the most popular drinks, whiskey, comes from the Ireland, you will get a clue. This drink that ranked 10th on our list of good mixed drinks to order at a bar is literally a mix of the hot coffee, Irish whiskey, sugar and cream. The drink looks like the frappe. There is a story which says that one of the rescuers of the Pan Am flying boat passengers in 1940 gave them a coffee with the whiskey to warm them up. When they asked if that was a Brazilian coffee, he said – “No, it is an Irish coffee”, so the name has been created.
9. Margarita
Yes, we all loved TV shows where a group of friends makes this cocktail as the easiest combination of the tequila and lemon or lime juice. If you order it in a bar, they will add a triple sec, ice and serve it in a glass with the sugar or salt on the glass rim. The best taste this drink gets is when the ice is blended or the whole cocktail is prepared in a blender, which makes the preparation even easier. However, this cocktail is very popular in bars, where inventive bartenders make a lot of variations of this drink using different types of the juices and glasses.
8. Cuba Libre
If you first association was rum, because of the Cuba, you are not wrong, this drink contains rum, among the other ingredients. Speaking of the other ingredients, they are Coke and slightly drained lime juice over it. Ice cubes are also important, as well as the mint leaves as the decoration. The story says that this drink was made in Cuba when the first bottle of the Coke came there, during the 60’s.
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7. Cosmopolitan
We know that you have remembered the famous TV show and four girls which visit the bars and restaurants in Manhattan, usually ordering this cocktail. It is actually a very simple combination of the vodka, strawberry juice, triple sec and a bit of lime juice without ice or straws. Although this transparent red drink has been made in the 30’s the high popularity gained during the 70’s in Manhattan, in gay bars first. Let be honest, for the high popularity today it should thank the Carrie Bradshaw and the TV show “Sex and the City”.
6. Gin and Tonic
This combination of two very popular drinks should be in the highest place of the list of good mixed drinks to order at a bar, mostly because it has been drunk in literally every bar in the modern world as well as at the clubs and private parties. The reason is probably the bitter taste of the tonic and a bit of the sweetness in the gin, which mixed together, makes the great combination to blow all senses. Being a transparent drink, with the ice cubes, it is a great base for the most interesting decorations, like mint leaves or lime slices on the glass. The drink is usually served in small square glasses. In some bars you can get those drinks separately, to make your own combination.
5. Tom Collins
This is one more drink made of gin on our list of good mixed drinks to order at a bar, but this time together with the sugar and lemon juice, to which are added cab soda and ice cubes to fill the square straight glass. In some bars, they will decorate with the cherry or lime slice and mint leaves. Basically, it is a great, refreshing colorless drink. But, why is the name of the drink Tom Collins? It is probably a misunderstanding and mixing up of the Tom Collins, a political activist which died in 1789 during the Irish Rebellion with the John Collins, a waiter, known during the 19th century in London. However, this drink is not changed much since the first version, which was made in the 19th century.
4. Mai Tai
The first association is a tropical beach, a palm tree and the waves splashing our feet. That is not far away from the truth when we take in mind the ingredients in this cocktail. Those are Curacao liqueur, rum, triple sec, lime juice and orgeat syrup (a special Taiwan sweet drink made of almonds and sugar). Mixed in this way, this drink becomes the best combination of the sweetness and alcohol, literally causing the feeling that we are on the beach at sunset. It became popular thanks to the Elvis Presley and the movie Blue Hawaii. And now, let’s see the top three entries on our list of good mixed drinks to order at a bar.
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3. Daiquiri
It is a very simple drink that ranks third on our list of good mixed drinks to order at a bar, made of rum, sugar, and lime or lemon juice. It is usually served in a thin glass with sugar on the rim of the glass. When the drink has rum, that usually means that it comes from Cuba, and that happened in the 40’s, during the World War II. The original recipe where the sugar is put in the glass with the ice cubes and poured with lime juice and then filled with the rum to the top of the glass is changed, so now it is a mix of all ingredients prepared in a cocktail mixer.
2. Martini
When we see how martini looks like and taste it, we can imagine why is that cocktail a James Bond favorite drink. Basically, the number two on our list of good mixed drinks to order at a bar is a mix of gin and vermouth with the lemon twist and an olive. However, there are so many variations of the original version, where vermouth is mixed with the vodka, Curacao, or with olive juice, as a dirty martini. If it contains an equal amount of dry and sweet vermouth it is called a perfect martini. However, James Bond like it mixed, not shaken.
1. Bloody Mary
There is no bar in the world where the bartender does not know what Bloody Mary cocktail is. Originally, this drink was made of tomato juice, vodka, and a mixture of spices like pepper, mint lives, and horseradish. The cocktail can be decorated with the celery. As a very refreshing drink, it is very popular in bars, but at home parties, too. Literally, every person can mix its own combination of spices. So, its popularity but also a unique spicy taste qualified this drink for the list of good mixed drinks to order at a bar.
