Looking for some easy Cocktails to Make at Home? We got you covered. Being able to whip up a good cocktail is an essential skill when you’re hosting a party — or just treating yourself and your domestic co-dwellers to a nice somethin’-somethin’’. Mixology can get pretty complicated, so here is a list of 21 simple bangers you can rely on at home
Easy Rum Cocktails
Rum doesn’t just come from the Caribbean; it is the very spirit of the Caribbean. Tropical and sunny, dark and stormy, rumconjures all of the fever-dream romance of that blue sea and its palm-laden islands. Here’s how to use it for some killer at-home cocktails:
1. Mojito
Simple and elegant and great for summertime get-togethers, the mojito is a staple. The ingredients include fresh mint leaves, white rum, fresh-squeezed lime juice, honey syrup, and club soda. Here’s our own recipe for the perfect homemade mojito.
2. Daiquiri
Another rum-centric cocktail that conjures warm, tropical sunshine, the Daiquiri is a Cuban masterpiece — well, specifically, it was invented by an American living in Cuba. It features light or dark rum, fresh-squeezed lime juice, delicious sugary syrup, and a citrusy garnish of your choice. Read the recipe for a lovely Daiquiri here.
3. Dark and Stormy
There’s plenty to love in the darker side of life — we’re talking storm clouds gathering on the horizon, waves swelling and crashing on the shore. The Dark and Stormy epitomizes such pleasures beautifully. With dark rum, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and ginger beer as its ingredients, it is an easy and delicious cocktail for your party. Here’s how to make it.
4. Zombie
Look, if you’re a rum lover, you get it — you can’t have too many bottles of rum in your collection. The Zombie is your payday, baby. Show off your dark rum, white rum, and overproof rum, plus some brandy, cherry liqueur, and the juice of oranges, pineapples, and fresh limes. Have we intrigued you? Here’s how to make a Zombie cocktail.
5. Mai Tai
Grab your rum, grab your curaçao, because the fun starts now! The Mai Tai was so named after its inventor made one for friends in Tahiti, only to have someone shout out, “Maita’i roa a’e!” (This means “The best! Out of this world!”) It’s a combination of blended or aged rum, orange curaçao, fresh-squeezed lime juice, sugar, orgeat, and ice. Here’s the perfect (and original) Mai Tai recipe.
6. Hurricane
Dark rum, light rum — every rum’s a fine rum. This is the M.O. of the Hurricane, a fantastic cocktail that combines dark and light rum, fresh-squeezed lime and orange juice, passion fruit puree, Grenadine, and simple syrup. The ingredient list isn’t the shortest, but trust us — it’s easier to make than you think.
Vodka
Привет, товарищ! It’s vodka time! The potato-faced lovechild of northern climes and Russian genius is ready to deliver some killer cocktails to your party:
7. Cosmo
The Cosmopolitan is an essential cocktail that nearly everyone will appreciate. It contains vodka, triple sec, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and cranberry juice. The mix of sour, bitter, and zesty flavors all combine to make the perfect drink. Here’s our favorite Cosmo recipe.
8. Bloody Mary
If you like your drinks like you like your attitude — salty — then the Bloody Mary is the perfect outlet for your mischief. The ingredients are not complex, or at least they’re only as complex as you want to make them, and they include vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, and a menagerie of spices like celery salt, pepper, Tabasco, and Worcestershire sauce. Here’s how to make a Bloody Mary.
9. Swimming Pool
Rum makes a cameo here to support vodka in creating this sweet, creamy drink. Similar to the piña colada, it’s easy to make and will deliver a jolt of joy to anyone — particularly in the winter when dreams of pineapples come at a premium. Here’s our recipe for the Swimming Pool cocktail.
10. Lemon Drop
You can’t go wrong with the Lemon Drop, a fun and simple vodka-based cocktail that includes a splash of Triple Sec, lemon juice, and sugary sweet syrup. It’s Oprah’s favorite cocktail. It’s sweet. It’s playful. It’s irrefutably delicious. Here’s how to make a Lemon Drop cocktail.
11. Dirty Martini
The Dirty Martini can feature either vodka or gin, but you can’t go wrong with some nice vodka here. The ingredients are as simple and elegant as the drink itself: some dry vermouth, olive brine, vodka, and a garnish. Let us not get mired down in the details — the Dirty Martiny wouldn’t want that. Here’s how to make it.
12. Greyhound
Invented sometime in or before 1930, the Greyhound is a vodka-centered cocktail that puts the power of good vodka on full display. In fact, it’s simply a combination of vodka, fresh grapefruit juice, and a garnish. Because the vodka is “flavorless,” it lets the grapefruit juice work its bitter-sour magic. Here’s how to make a Greyhound.
Whiskey and Bourbon
Things get very interesting when it comes to combining whiskey and other ingredients. A fine whiskey almost snootily demands to be sipped and enjoyed on its own, but deep down, it really likes to play with others. Here are some fabulous whiskey and bourbon-based cocktails:
13. Whiskey Sour
It’s the warm snuggle of whisky combined with the extroverted sunshine of lemon — it’s the Whiskey Sour. Combining these two ingredients with some simple syrup or other sweetener makes for a serious lifesaver when circumstances call for it. Oh, and the Whiskey Sour actually saved many thousands of lives on the open seas, but that’s a whole other story.
14. Eggnog
You can’t get through life not knowing how to make the perfect batch of eggnog. No, it’s not the simplest thing, but come on — your holidays won’t be complete without it. So roll up your sleeves and get ready to crack some eggs, pour some whiskey, and whisk some nutmeg. Here’s how to make some eggnog, baby.
15. Hot Toddy
Whiskey is the quintessential cozy drink, and no drink is cozier than the Hot Toddy. It combines maple syrup, hot pepper, cinnamon, lemon juice, bourbon, and hot water to create the perfect antidote for chilly, dark evenings. Here’s how we prefer to make a Hot Toddy.
16. Old Fashioned
There’s nothing like an Old Fashioned to give your party guests the impression that you’re a person of class — whether that impression is mistaken or not. It’s a bartender’s staple, and it’s actually quite easy to make at home using bourbon, Angostura bitters, and sugar. Here’s how we make our Old Fashioned.
17. Manhattan
Elegant, showy, and above all, easy to make, the Manhattan is a great one to have in your DIY repertoire. It’s fun, unique, and visually stunning. You can serve it any time of year, though, like many whiskey cocktails, it hits particularly hard in the cold months. Here’s our recipe for a perfect Manhattan.
Gin
Finally, there’s gin, another excellent liquor that serves as the base for many a fine libation. Here are some of our favorite gin cocktails:
18. Tom Collins
The Tom Collins is a mouth-puckering crowd-pleaser that continues to be coveted by bargoers and home mixologists alike. It’s simple: gin, syrup, lemon juice, and club soda — and here’s how to make one.
19. French 75
The glamor and panache of the French 75 cocktail are unmatched. Featuring citrus, sugar, and just the right amount of champagne-provided bubbles, it’s a delicious gin cocktail and an easy one to make at home — particularly when you have some London Dry Gin lying around.
20. Negroni
Italian as they come, the Negroni is a classic that’s spent plenty of time as a crowd favorite. Featuring gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, it’s as elegant as it is easy to make. Impress your houseguests — or at least yourself — by following this recipe for the perfect Negroni.
21. Gimlet
Finally, there’s the Gimlet, an excellent warm-weather drink that lends itself well to celebrations and backyard get-togethers. It’s deceptively simple to make: all you really need is gin and lime. Want to whip one together? Here’s how.
