The Thirteen Greatest Cocktails of All Time

Yeah, I know, another list thread. But I searched and searched and couldn't find a single discussion of the Greatest Cocktails (Tiki AND those other ones) of all time.
Here's the rub, bub -

• They have to have a specific birthplace (usually a bar, natch) where they were made under that name for the first time. Or lots of history pinning their birth down to a specific time and region. Lots of drinks have long histories leading up to their birth, where they were made under other names or with slightly different ingredients. That crap doesn't matter.

• They have to have been so popular that they flipped ideas of what a good cocktail actually IS, often making them the genesis of a whole style of drink.

• The word 'cocktail' herein refers to the modern accepted meaning of the word; any mixed single drink of three or more ingredients, not counting ice. Simple two-ingredient 'cocktails' such as mimosas do not count. Punches do not count. Beer is out as an ingredient.

• This is an Anglo-American style list. If you wannna submit the Greatest Hits from Lower Zchechnolopia, please do; we ain't ethnocentric, just eccentric.

So here's a place to start, with approximate dates (and this list was so hard it's actually 11 long, but who's counting?):

1. Tom & Jerry (1820's)
2. Mint Julep (1824)
3. Manhattan (1870's)
4. Old Fashioned (1880's)
5. Tom Collins (1880's)
6. Daquiri (1905)
7. Planters Punch (1908)
8. Singapore Sling (1910)
9. Martini (1910?)
10. Sidecar (1917)
11. Zombie (1935???)

Laytah!

[ Edited by: Cammo 2008-07-26 14:46 ]

Singapore Sling? Really? It was "copied" a lot, but, most people hate them and no one seems to agree what the real recipe is.

I'd add the Pina Colada in there. No one used coconut cream before that and it was a revolution.

Swankster - what's yer list, then?

You obviously did the research. I am not that up on my classic cocktails. No expert on it all. I don't know how popular and different a Ward 8 was for example. That was my only observation here.

Are you going by actual, specific named cocktails? Or by cocktail styles with the most common example?

Fizz or Ramos Gin Fizz

Oh, and thank you for including the Singapore Sling.

This drink makes an excellent example of what has happened to cocktails through the ages to today..... an original recipe that was kept secret, then someone got close enough on their own and co-opted the 'original' title and advertised the hell out of it, which led to it being copied over and over again until what is 'common' is nothing like the original.

Examples being the Margarita, Martini, Mai-Tai, Hurricane, Zombie, etc.....

All fine examples of a good cocktail.

And all of them so horrible screwed up by your average bartender as to be practically undrinkable.

Edited because I didn't read the criteria for listing.
World changing cocktails?
How about the Sazeracs?

[ Edited by: pablus 2008-06-26 20:23 ]

Plus...
Old Fashioned and Manhattan are kissing cousins. Maybe even inbred a little.

"How about the Sazeracs?"

Yup, and there's a distinct American-English tilt to these as well, a French list would look totally different.

Delete the Old Fashioned (its kind of boring anyway) add a Sazerac, and keep or delete the Zombie? It's like a strong Planters Punch, like a Planters Knockout...

What about the "Rum and Coke"?

The Zombie was the drink heard round the states. Gotta keep that one. Put Don on the map and made everythign else possible, including Trader Vic and the Mai Tai. If nothing else, I think the marketing was ingenious. "Limit 2" was total genious.

So add the Sazerac, kick the Old Fashioned, hold that Zombie and last call on the Ramos Gin Fizz - this is gettin' real close;

1. Tom & Jerry (1820's)
2. Mint Julep (1824)
3. Sazerac (1859)
4. Manhattan (1870's)
5. Ramos Gin Fizz (1888)
6. Daquiri (1905)
7. Planters Punch (1908)
8. Singapore Sling (1910)
9. Martini (1910)
10. Sidecar (1917)
11. Zombie (1934)

I had the Collins in there to represent the whole Fizz family, but the Ramos is a great call. It's interesting how the last 5 are all Tiki standards to this day - the Mai Tai is basically a Rum Sidecar. (I went to a really busy, old-school bar a few nights ago and the bartender had never even heard of a Sidecar.)

What about the Pousse Cafe? Drinks made solely for their visual decadence.

great thread. two comments:

one, it really shows how much cocktail culture faded away last century since there have been no top drinks invented in almost 75 years;

two, this is kind of left field, but the bloody mary should get a spot. everyone knows it, everywhere makes one, and a good one is a beautiful thing indeed. besides, it was this drink along with the variation on the martini that introduced vodka to the US. I know many consider that a bad thing, but it is a big thing.

Yup, and here's another; what about an Irish Coffee? It's kind of in a strange genre of its own.

And - are the Planters Punch and the Zombie too similar? Basically the Zombie is an XXX Planters, with a tastier base...

Billy Bro - a rum & coke is a just a Rum Fizz with Cocaine.

See how hard this is?????

What about absinthe? This type of drink has a new method of drinking. It had a big effect on art (and advertising). It had a "mascot"--the green fairy. And it was such a craze that it was banned.

Don't leave out the Mimosa. Not a go-to drink for me, but this figures so prominently on brunch and wedding menus that it's hard to leave out.

On 2008-06-27 10:12, Cammo wrote:
Yup, and here's another; what about an Irish Coffee? It's kind of in a strange genre of its own.

And - are the Planters Punch and the Zombie too similar? Basically the Zombie is an XXX Planters, with a tastier base...

Billy Bro - a rum & coke is a just a Rum Fizz with Cocaine.

See how hard this is?????

Sounds like a fun way to get myself to the unemplyment line.......SIGN ME UP!

I do like the Singapore Sling
The Mai Tai
The standard Gin and Tonic (I'm guaranteed trouble after 3 or 4 of these)
The Rum and Coke (Cuba Libre) is another old standby for me.
The mighty Mojito
Jeez this is hard, I'm just responding without any research.
May we add the Reverb Crash or is that on that other topic about favorite Tiki drinks?
I've had some various Daiquiris that I really like as well
As far as Irish coffee goes I prefer the much smoother Baileys and coffee

My favorite The Gin & Tonic (which I believe you already represented in general).

Maybe add the Long Island Iced Tea?

What about some vodka based drinks, like the vodka and tonic, the Cape Cod (cranberry and vodka), the Screwdriver, and the Bloody Mary? Vodka...the breakfast of champions!

[ Edited by: Jason Wickedly 2008-06-27 23:26 ]

The "Pousse Cafe" is a style of drink (yummy) but not really a specific cocktail.

Absinthe isn't a cocktail.

Matt's are all variation on what we already got.

Nobody's objected to Irish Coffe, and while its basically a Hot Toddy, the Toddy category is too loose to keep it off the list.

Nothin' like a Bloody Mary, so....

1. Tom & Jerry (1820's)
2. Mint Julep (1824)
3. Sazerac (1859)
4. Manhattan (1870's)
5. Ramos Gin Fizz (1888)
6. Daquiri (1905)
7. Planters Punch (1908)
8. Singapore Sling (1910)
9. Martini (1910)
10. Sidecar (1917)
11. Mimosa (1925)
12. Zombie (1934)
13. Bloody Mary (1939)
14. Irish Coffee (1940's)
15. Screwdriver (1949)

I loooooove daiquiris - Mango and Banana are my favourites!!!

As we say from New England, it's gettin' wicked hahd to finalize this list.

Sorry to keep complicating things, but what about the Margarita? Pretty big one there and probably as "important"(if that's the right word) to cocktail history as some of the others on the list.

Drinks just keep poppin' up, dammit!

Also, it looks like you're ranking the drinks by year of creation and not any subjective priority. Once we have a list, I guess we'll need another whole thread to rank them by preference!

On 2008-06-28 07:18, Cammo wrote:

1. Tom & Jerry (1820's)
2. Mint Julep (1824)
3. Sazerac (1859)
4. Manhattan (1870's)
5. Ramos Gin Fizz (1888)
6. Daquiri (1905)
7. Planters Punch (1908)
8. Singapore Sling (1910)
9. Martini (1910)
10. Sidecar (1917)
11. Mimosa (1925)
12. Zombie (1934)
13. Bloody Mary (1939)
14. Irish Coffee (1940's)
15. Screwdriver (1949)

The Margarita is a Tequila Sidecar, the Mai Tai is a Rum Sidecar.

But you're right, the M drink is so popular and so historic it could easily dance its way to the top ten.

On 2008-06-30 08:17, Cammo wrote:
The Margarita is a Tequila Sidecar, the Mai Tai is a Rum Sidecar.

Wow, I never thought of these drinks as sidecar variations because of the differences - the sidecar is made with lemon juice and the margarita and mai tai have lime juice and the margarita calls for salt rim while the sidecar calls for sugar rim, etc.

However, I guess these drinks are related because they all qualify as "sours". Per Wikipedia (yeah, I know): "Sours are mixed drinks containing a base liquor, lemon or lime juice, and a sweetener".

Given that, the daiquiri also seems to be caught in the same net. However, I agree with you that variations of drinks should not be disqualified if they each have a significant history of their own.

Planter's punch is a great choice, in my opinion. Wasn't it the planter's punch, according to Beach Bum Berry at his seminar on Don The BeachComber, that was a recipe that dates back to at least the 1600's in the Caribbean, and may be considered the world's first mixed drink/cocktail? That would be in it's recipe of 1 of sour, 2 of sweet, 3 of strong, and 4 of weak.

Not trying to be tiki-centric or argue my name sake, since there are other great drinks here like the sauzerac, but I would also try to argue for the Mai Tai. Even though it also has been bastardized to no end, just about everyone knows the name, and usually order them when on vacation, especially when visiting a tropical type place. Not bad for a drink that's only about 64 years old!

Also, how about a Navy Grog? It also has old origins, dating back to the British Navy in the 1700's, where Admiral Edward “Old Grogram” Vernon had his crew mix their rum ration with water, lime, and sugar? I'm sure nothing like that had been served before, except maybe for a planter's punch?

I added one.

1. Tom & Jerry (1820's)
2. Mint Julep (1824)
3. Sazerac (1859)
4. Manhattan (1870's)
5. Ramos Gin Fizz (1888)
6. Daquiri (1905)
7. Planters Punch (1908)
8. Singapore Sling (1910)
9. Martini (1910)
10. Sidecar (1917)
11. Mimosa (1925)
12. Zombie (1934)
13. Bloody Mary (1939)
14. Irish Coffee (1940's)
15. Screwdriver (1949)
16. Cactus Cooler Volcano (2008)

Is the Cactus Cooler Volcano similar to the "Fuzzy Mai Tai"? I am so making that for Fourth of July....off to the ghetto to buy 2 liter bottles of Cactus Cooler!

On 2008-06-27 11:52, Naneki wrote:
What about absinthe? This type of drink has a new method of drinking. It had a big effect on art (and advertising). It had a "mascot"--the green fairy. And it was such a craze that it was banned.

Absinthe on its own is not a cocktail. However, the Sazerac that is already on the list does have absinthe in it, so that should cover it.

On another note ... I agree that the traditional Mai Tai should be on the list. And who doesn't love a good Nui Nui!?

Other great classic cocktails:
Margarita
Mojito
Cosmopolitan
Caprainha
Moscow Mule

How the hell does a Screwdriver get on the list?Vodka and orange juice.Boring.At least make it a Harvey Wallbanger.

Good Lord...the Mai Tai deserves to be on that list!

Cactus Cooler Volcano?

I'm gonna have to call shenanigans on that one.

I don't claim to know a lot, but I would like to think that I have heard of the 16 greatest cocktails of all time and I don't have a clue what that is...

Big second on the Mojito as list-worthy, BTW.

Also, Rusty Nail and/or Rob Roy?

Something tells me we are going to end up at about 25 drinks if we want to really get a complete list (not including the CCV :P).

On 2008-07-01 15:05, Cammo wrote:
I added one.

1. Tom & Jerry (1820's)
2. Mint Julep (1824)
3. Sazerac (1859)
4. Manhattan (1870's)
5. Ramos Gin Fizz (1888)
6. Daquiri (1905)
7. Planters Punch (1908)
8. Singapore Sling (1910)
9. Martini (1910)
10. Sidecar (1917)
11. Mimosa (1925)
12. Zombie (1934)
13. Bloody Mary (1939)
14. Irish Coffee (1940's)
15. Screwdriver (1949)
16. Cactus Cooler Volcano (2008)

On 2008-07-01 17:34, swizzle wrote:
How the hell does a Screwdriver get on the list?Vodka and orange juice.Boring.At least make it a Harvey Wallbanger.

My opinion as well.......There's a difference between a great cocktail and a mixed drink. Screwdriver, Rum and Coke(my favorite with Blackstrap rum), Gin and Tonic, Whiskey Sour, Vodka cran, and most other two ingredient concoctions should be left out. No mixing knowledge is required and the only mistakes you can make are too weak or too strong.......or using tap water for ice.Yuck!

*"What about some vodka based drinks, like the vodka and tonic, the Cape Cod, the Screwdriver, and the Bloody Mary? Vodka...the breakfast of champions!"

"How the hell does a Screwdriver get on the list?"

"There's a difference between a great cocktail and a mixed drink. Screwdriver, Rum and Coke, Gin and Tonic, Whiskey Sour, Vodka cran, and most other two ingredient concoctions should be left out."*

Would you knuckleheads make up your minds??!!!

Billy's right. Dumping alcohol into a carrier is not a cocktail. That means the Cactus Cooler Volcano is out, among others.

So;

1. Tom & Jerry (1820's)
2. Mint Julep (1824)
3. Sazerac (1859)
4. Manhattan (1870's)
5. Ramos Gin Fizz (1888)
6. Daquiri (1905)
7. Planters Punch (1908)
8. Singapore Sling (1910)
9. Martini (1910)
10. Sidecar (1917)
11. Zombie (1934)
12. Bloody Mary (1939)
13. Irish Coffee (1940's)

Mojito, Cosmopolitan, Caprainha, Moscow Mule, Rob Roy, Rusty Nail, etc. are all still on the block...

Agreed a cocktail has to have 3 or more ingredients to make it so.
That would put Screwdrivers, G&T, etc a no-no.

The Mojito is probably as we speak the most popular cocktail ever created, most bars here don't even put it on the menu anymore as it is taken as read that it will be served.

I also think the Pina Colada should be there.

great thread, you've really got me thinking

[ Edited by: cheekytiki 2008-07-02 07:17 ]

There's a big difference between an original cocktail that went huge, and simple variations on a formula.

Mojito - A Rum Collins with mint sticking out the top.
Rob Roy - A Manhattan with Scotch.
Cosmo - Basically a pink Gimlet.

But the Moscow Mule (1941) may rate up there. It's very original, lots of quirky history, made vodka real popular, still tastes good, etc.

Discuss the Sherry Cobbler...it dates back to around the 1840's, and was one of the most important cobbler drinks to survive.

On 2008-07-02 07:43, Cammo wrote:

Cosmo - Basically a pink Gimlet.

Cosmo is not close to a gimlet.

Heck a gimlet is much much closer to traditional Daiquiri in taste than a Cosmo is.

[ Edited by: Tiki Phill 2008-07-02 10:45 ]

On 2008-07-02 10:45, Tiki Phill wrote:

On 2008-07-02 07:43, Cammo wrote:

Cosmo - Basically a pink Gimlet.

Cosmo is not close to a gimlet.

Heck a gimlet is much much closer to traditional Daiquiri in taste than a Cosmo is.

[ Edited by: Tiki Phill 2008-07-02 10:45 ]

I used to live on Gin Gimlets, man.(shot of gin, squeeze of lime, dash of Roses lime juice, shake it until your hand freezes to the shaker. The Vodka Gimlet is exactly the same)......just add Cran & triple-sec and it's a Cosmo. Very close relatives. Holy S@#T, I was pickled back then!!

If you get the chance,the book by Dave Embury"The Fine Art Of Mixed Drinks"is something everyone interested in cocktails should read.
He explains it very simply.There really is only a few different types of cocktails and all the variations are just a twist on a tried and true formula.
Technically a "cocktail" is a specific type of drink on it's own(I can't remember the exact ingredients at the moment),then you have Juleps,Sours,Collins,Smashes,etc.
I'd like to see the list name the most popular of each style.

Great thread but this list is getting me confused :-?

The Old Fashioned is dumped in favor of the Manhattan, which is newer and a variation on the Old Fashioned...

A Mojito is "A Rum Collins with mint sticking out the top." I don't think so. The Mojito was invented in the 1800s and is a classic, that has a popularity boost right now. I think it should be on the list.

You can also say that the Daiquiri is a Mojito with the mint left out, or better, just a rum sour.

Anyway, I think the Mojito should be on the list because

• It's really tasty
• It's very old
• Its popularity is huge

And of course the Mai Tai shoul be in the top three, it's a great cocktail, not an imitation or variation and the most important "Tropical Drink".

The Dorktones podcast

[ Edited by: snackbar 2008-07-05 02:04 ]

Oh c'mon, you can't throw out the Old-Fashioned (1880) -- it's practically the proto-cocktail!

The problem is; the Manhattan probably - get this - pre-dates the Old Fashioned. The exact dates are really hard to pin down, though.

You're right about the OF being the prototype cocktail, but only in the old archaic (1800's) understanding of the word 'cocktail'. There were lots of other mixed drinks out at the time, but they were called Toddies, Slings, Flips, etc. Cocktail meant a drink with bitters or vermouth as the smoothing ingredient, a bit of sugar, a bit of ice.

And all this goes right to the point - to use the old meaning of cocktail you have to throw out all the Tiki drinks. And cripes, we can't do that, so 'Cocktail' as far as this thread goes is the current understanding of the word - meaning a single drink concoction, no wine or beer.

More laytah...

UPDATE!

Vermouth is a type of WINE! So 'Cocktails' in fact include wine drinks! They have to.

And - I've gone over my old copy of David Embury's "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks" and remembered why it's the last book I consult on any matter concerning drinks. It constantly contradicts itself, dismisses the Zombie as an advertising fraud, touts the Dry Martini as the greatest cocktail ever concieved, and then heaps condescending repugnance on Vodka, because it is a cheap flavorless grain alcohol. (Just like the Martini's gin, which is basically a flavored grain alcohol.)

The book is great for three reasons, though - one, he tries (without success) to reduce drinks to their basic components and group them into families. Second, he unknowingly shows us exactly what the public thought of cocktails in 1948. (the book's original publishing date)

**And third, he again unknowingly opens up a gigantic question and poses perhaps the most earth-shattering insight into the history of making mixed drinks, perhaps the biggest most breathtaking insight of all time, an idea that literally shakes the very foundations of bartending and how we think and conceive of the very act of DRINKING ITSELF, such an enormous idea that I can't bring myself to look at it directly, it's so scary huge. And Tiki Drinks are at the very core of this idea, because simply stated, in the long history of all drink mixing . . .

Tiki drinks may be the ONLY TRUE COCKTAILS.**

So basically all cocktails (same as mixed drinks?!?) become morphed and/or mutated at some point to some degree and whatever little tweak then receives a new name.

Take for instance the Cosmo, (the bastard Gimlet) variations could become a Seabreeze, Summer Breeze, Madras, Sex on the Beach, Peach Fizz, Jacuzzi...

So where is the line drawn? I would say a top 10 list is possible and then maybe an honorable mention list of 11 thru 20. How about a classic vs. modern (post 50's) list? Maybe a top 10 Rum list, Vodka list etc...

"So basically all cocktails (same as mixed drinks?!?) become morphed and/or mutated at some point to some degree and whatever little tweak then receives a new name."

That's exactly true, and I think most of the mutations happened when the bartender simply ran out of a certain ('correct') type of liquor! He just grabbed the next bottle in line and said to the customer Try This.

But that's only part of what I mean here - the all-encompassing theory I've developed is called the "Way of the Two Paths".

And it's core idea is this - at one point mixed drinks became HEALTH DRINKS that were not supposed to taste good! And they almost KILLED the entire Western World! And what brought them back from the horrible depths of tastelessness and snake-oil fakery bakery healthiness was entirely -

the Tiki Drink.