10 Underrated Cocktails You Should Try
Recently, I’ve developed a small knack for mixing cocktails, and while I am certainly familiar with the classics like a margarita, an old-fashioned, or a daiquiri, there is still a wide world of tasty drinks out there, some of which I don’t think you have even heard of. Today, I’m going to share 10 of these underrated classic cocktails that I very much enjoy, and maybe if you see one of these on the menu at a restaurant or bar, then you may be inclined to order one.
Going in no particular order, we begin with…
10. Gold Rush
The Gold Rush is thought to be a cousin to the classic Bee’s Knees, a drink made with lemon, honey, and gin, and was first made at the Milk & Honey bar in New York City only two decades ago.
For this drink, like with the Bee’s Knees, you will need to create a honey syrup, which is made by combining equal parts honey and hot water and then letting that cool down. What’s great about using this honey syrup as opposed to straight honey is that it’s not as thick and sticky as honey, so it’ll mix into the drink a lot more evenly.
I’m getting a little thirsty now, so let’s mix up a Gold Rush. Remember, when mixing cocktails, starting with your least expensive ingredients is best.
In a shaker, you’re going to combine 3/4 ounces of lemon juice, freshly squeezed is not optional, 3/4 ounces of that honey syrup, and 2 ounces of whiskey. I like to use rye whiskey for this drink as I like how the spice blends with the sweetness of the honey, but you can use bourbon if you want. Fill the shaker with ice, then shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker feels cold. Strain that into a glass, then I like to serve it as it is, but for a nicer presentation, garnish it with a lemon twist.
Looking at the color of this drink, it’s no wonder why it’s called a Gold Rush. You get the sweet, floral flavors of the honey plus depth and spice from the whiskey, and all together, a well-balanced drink.
9. Rosita
You may have heard of the Negroni, a drink made with sweet vermouth, gin, and a bright red aperitif called Campari. Well, the Rosita follows a similar path but uses tequila instead of gin for a Mexican twist on an Italian classic, and it’s delicious.
This drink could not be easier to make; it is one ounce each of Reposado Tequila, a tequila that’s been aged in an oak barrel, sweet vermouth, and Campari, although the Campari is a bit too strong for me, so I usually go with a 1/2 ounce, but that’s up to you. Pour those ingredients over a large ice cube in a rock glass, stir to combine, and then garnish with an orange twist.
To make an orange twist, or a lemon twist, take a vegetable peeler and run it down the wider equator of the orange to create a long, wide strip. Squeeze that peel over your drink to express the aromatic oils, then place the peel inside, right next to the ice, so when your guest brings the drink up to their mouth, they can smell the wonderful orange aroma.
And there you go, a classic Rosita. Easy to make, tastes great, and is a great way to feel a bit sophisticated.
A great cocktail really can be this simple; this idea that you need to be a mixologist with all of these top-shelf, high-end spirits and liquors is, as far as I can tell, redundant. Take a few simple ingredients, like say a base spirit, plus one or two other liquors, maybe some citrus, maybe some syrup, perhaps some bitters as well, and you’d be amazed at how many great cocktails you can make.
8. Aviation #1
The Aviation #1 is a bit of a weird drink that I happen to love. The reason why it’s called #1 is that there is an Aviation #2 variant that does not have the trademark ingredient, Creme de Violette, a purple liquor made from the violet flower. Creme de Violette wasn’t always available, so when it became scarce, that’s when the #2 was invented.
To make an Aviation, you’ll want to pour 1 ounce of lemon juice, 1/4 ounce of the Creme de Violette (a little goes a long way), 1/2 ounce of Luxardo Maraschino (often used as a sweetener substitute as opposed to sugar), and 2 ounces of gin. I like to use a London dry gin as it has a nice peppery finish, but any gin you like will work for this.
Give the drink some ice, shake it vigorously, and then strain it into a chilled glass. For garnish, we will use one of the best cocktail garnishes the world has to offer, Luxardo cherries. These little cherries are soaked in a dark syrup and have a lot of depth of flavor; in fact, those bright red Maraschino cherries you get on your milkshake are based on these.
And there you have it, Aviation #1, a drink that combines the floral Creme de Violette with the bright lemon juice and a hint of sweetness from the luxardo liquor for a wonderful drink. If you are at a cocktail bar and see that they have Creme de Violette and wonder what it’s for, this is it.
7. Pisco Sour
This drink is a South American spin on a classic whiskey sour that utilizes pisco, a spirit from Chile and Peru that is technically in the brandy family; big liquor stores will sell it among the brandy, but it is’s own thing entirely.
To begin, we will combine 1/2 ounce each of lemon juice and lime juice. Why the two kinds of citrus? Well, the citrus that’s used in Chile and Peru, known as limon, has a taste that’s a cross between the lemons and limes that you find in the states, so that’s what I’m going with.
Add 1/2 ounce of simple syrup, made by dissolving equal parts sugar and water, 2 ounces of pisco, and an egg white, for a foamy top.
I know the egg white sounds bizarre, but give it a shot and I promise it will make the drink fluffy and light and not eggy at all. Whenever you make a drink with an egg white, you want to start with a dry shake, shaking without ice to whip the egg white and get that frothiness started.
Please note that when whipping an egg white like this, a bit of air pressure can build up in the shaker and, like with opening champagne, there’s a chance that the mixture could explode out the sides and create a mess, so be careful when opening the shaker after the dry shake.
Once the egg white has reached a nice frothy look or after about a minute of vigorous shaking, you can then add some ice and shake a bit more to chill down the drink and strain it into a chilled glass. For garnish, there are two things that are classically used: either three drops of Angostura bitters or grated cinnamon. I like to use both because I like the flavor that each of them gives.
And there you have it, an excellent Pisco sour, the national drink of Chile and Peru. Both countries claim to have invented the drink, but I choose not to get in the middle of that.
6. Mexican Firing Squad
This drink has a name that sounds a bit politically incorrect, but it was invented in Mexico, so…I’m going with it.
To make a firing squad, put a few dashes of Angostura bitters, 1/2 ounce of lime juice, 1/2 ounce of grenadine, and 2 ounces of tequila blanco into a shaker.
You may notice that this is not the bright red Rose’s grenadine that many of us are likely familiar with, it is better. This grenadine is concentrated fresh pomegranate juice sweetened with sugar; it’s tart, it’s sweet, and it is probably my favorite cocktail syrup of all time. I strongly recommend trying this stuff if you haven’t.
You’ll then want to add some ice to the shaker and shake vigorously to combine. the way I like to serve this is by pouring it into a glass with a large piece of ice, then topping it with about three ounces of club soda, and garnishing with an orange twist.
There you have it, a Mexican firing squad special, a bright, fruity tequila drink born in Mexico.
5. Presbyterian
The Presbyterian is in a category of cocktails called a buck, which is a fizzy ginger, lime juice, and spirit drink. Other examples of bucks include the Moscow Mule, made with vodka; the Dark n’ Stormy, made with Gosling’s dark rum; and the Headless Horseman, which starts as a Moscow Mule but has the addition of Angostura.
To make a Presbyterian, you only need a few simple ingredients. 1/2 ounce of lime juice and 2 ounces of Rye Whiskey. Pour those into a shaker, then add a small piece of ice, and shake for about a minute or until you can no longer hear that ice cube bouncing around in there. This technique is called a whip shake, and it’s going to lightly chill the drink while also getting some air incorporated.
Pour that into a tall glass with a large piece of ice, then finish with 3 ounces of ginger beer.
And that is your Presbyterian, a slightly spicy whiskey cocktail that I think you’ll love.
4. Hotel Nacional
Invented in the Hotel Nacional in Cuba, this drink has a really nice pineapple, fruity flavor that makes me feel like I’m sitting at the beach at the Caribbean just thinking about it.
To make a Hotel Nacional, pour 1/2 ounce each of lime juice and apricot brandy, which we are using to sweeten the drink in place of sugar, 1 ounce of pineapple juice, and 2 ounces of aged rum into a shaker. Add some ice, give that a generous shake, and strain into a glass.
And voila! A Hotel Nacional. Believed to be a pineapple spin on a daiquiri with the addition of that apricot brandy, I highly recommend this drink if you’ve never tried it.
3. Caipirinha
This cocktail is the national drink of Brazil and is one that American palates should open up to.
To start, cut 1 lime into 4 wedges, and place that into a glass with a sugar cube or 2 teaspoons of sugar for abrasion and 1/2 ounce of simple syrup. Take your muddler, and use that to press down on that lime and get all of the juice out. Since the lime isn’t going to bruise as much as, say, mint leaves, you don’t need to be scared of going for it, getting all of the aromatic oils out of that lime peel, and also dissolving the sugar.
Once the lime is nicely muddled, it’s time to add 2 ounces of Cachaca, a fermented sugarcane product found near the rum in big liquor stores that has a wonderful funkiness to it that I enjoy. If you can’t find Cachaca, then aged rum is a decent alternative. Add some ice, then give the drink a light stir to combine. You don’t have to stir for a long time, you just want to get the Cachaca mixed with everything else.
What i like about the Caipirinha is how the aromatic lime peel from those lime wedges blends with the sweet funk of the Cachaca for one of the most uniquely tasting drinks you’ll ever have.
2. 20th Century
The 20th Century has a unique flavor combination of lemon and chocolate that might sound bizarre, but believe me, it works, and I love it. This drink was first invented in the 1930s, which…is in the 20th Century.
In a shaker, you’ll combine 1 ounce of lemon juice, 1/2 ounce of creme de cacao, a chocolate-flavored liquor, 1/2 ounce of Lillet blanc, a fortified white wine from France, and since there’s both the creme de cacao and the Lillet in there, this only gets 1 1/2 ounces of gin. Yep, it's just your typical lemon-chocolate-wine cocktail which, for some reason, tastes great. Add ice, shake it good, and then strain into a glass.
And that is your 20th Century; strange sounding flavor profile, but I promise you that it tastes good.
1. Godfather
To finish this list of great cocktails, we now look to the Godfather, a spin on the Old Fashioned with a rather unknown history about who first made it and when, but it became very popular in the 1970s when strong, sweet cocktails were all the rage.
I am honestly surprised more people aren’t making a Godfather these days because it is one of the easiest cocktails you could possibly make. All you need to do is combine equal parts scotch whiskey and amaretto in a glass with a large chunk of ice, give it a stir, and…that’s it. That’s the entire drink.
I suppose not everyone is a fan of strong, straight-up cocktails, but I happen to love the taste of amaretto and how it blends with the flavor of the Scotch and think this, along with the other cocktails mentioned in this list, is well worth mixing up or ordering if you ever get a chance.
