The 2024 Cocktail Guide

By City Drinks July 26, 2024

Which cocktails do we love the most and which tipples are officially the trendiest?

We believe mixologists and bartenders are artists who, instead of painting colors on canvas or chiseling shapes on stone, combine alcohol, sugars, and other cocktail ingredients to craft drinks that speak to our souls.

Too dramatic? You may not agree now, but talk to us again after imbibing a glass or two. We’re certain you’ll hear it then, too.

Kidding aside, whether or not you feel as passionately about cocktails as we do, this write-up is for you. Read on to learn which cocktails are most beloved, trendiest, and seemingly falling out of favor. At least the next time you must order drinks for everyone, you’ll know which cocktails to order. Furthermore, if you wish to fill any gaps in your “cocktail education,” we have a list of the most popular Insta cocktail influencers you can follow.

If you’re ready to proceed, let’s go. Let us tell you, though. This edifying journey is so much more enjoyable with a cocktail or two.

The world’s most-loved cocktails

There are hundreds (even thousands) of cocktail recipes online, even though there are only 89 cocktails in the International Bartenders Association’s official cocktails registry. If all these cocktails were to hold a popularity contest, the cocktails below would sweep the popularity awards.

1. Mojito

The mojito lands in top place, with a popularity score of 9.72. It is the most tagged cocktail in Instagram (5.7 million tags) and TikTok (189,500 tags) and is one of the most-searched cocktail recipes (191,000). It also has the second most global searches (903,000) among the cocktails in this list.

The mojito is a cocktail from Cuba, believed to be an offshoot of an ancient Cuban drink that combines lime, mint, cane sugar, and the local spirit known as aguardiente (i.e., firewater). When Bacardí started distilling rum in Cuba, some locals (or Bacardi himself) must have replaced the aguardiente with rum, creating the mojito we know today. When it was illegal to drink alcoholic beverages in the United States (the Prohibition), Americans traveled to Cuba for drinks and started a love affair with the drink.

How to Make a Mojito

Put a small handful of mint leaves at the bottom of a Collins, highball or longdrink glass. Measure 1.5 ounces of lime juice in a jigger and add that plus 2 teaspoons of white cane sugar and a splash of soda water to the mint. Next, fill the tall glass with ice, add 1.5 oz of white Cuban rum, and top the glass with more soda water. Put a sprig of mint and a lime wheel as garnish.

2. Piña Colada

The piña colada, which means strained pineapple, is the second most popular cocktail in the world. It has a popularity score of 9.27, computed based on various factors, including the number of Instagram tags (1.5 million), global searches (539,000) and recipe searches (130,000).

The piña colada was invented by a bartender at the Caribe Hilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1954. After 24 years, it became Puerto Rico’s official drink and, today, it’s one of the world’s favorite summer cocktail treats. Who can resist its sweet, creamy, and slightly tangy taste? It’s like a pineapple ice cream shake, but warmer with its alcoholic kick.

How to Make a Piña Colada

Put 1.69 oz of white rum, 1 oz of coconut cream, 1.69 oz of fresh pineapple juice, and some ice cubes into a blender. Pulse that until smooth and pour into a chilled poco grande or a piña colada glass. Add a straw, garnish with a pineapple wedge, and serve.

Note: You may enhance the creaminess by adding 1 oz of heavy cream. However, if you do this, you may want to add an extra 1.69 oz of pineapple juice and maybe even another 1.69 oz of rum for balance.

3. Aperol Spritz

The third most searched-for and tagged tipple is the Aperol spritz, elbowing out the Moscow mule (4th place) and martini (5th place) from the top three with a popularity rating of 8.98. It is the most searched globally (998,000) and the third most tagged on Instagram (2.2 million tags) and TikTok (62,400 tags).

The Aperol spritz was invented in the 1950s in the City of Padua in Veneto, Italy. The Barbieri brothers, creators of Aperol, added the orange aperitivo to wine and created the Aperol spritz.

The Aperol spritz is the perfect aperitif. Lively, slightly bitter, and sweet, it awakens the taste buds and prepares you for lunch or dinner.

How to Make an Aperol Spritz

Start with ice in a chilled balloon wine glass. Add 3 oz of Prosecco D.O.C., 2 oz of Aperol orange liqueur, and 1 oz of soda water. Stir lightly, then garnish with an orange wheel.

Trending tipples

Which mixed drinks do we expect to become more popular over time? The answer lies below, where we rank cocktails according to the increase in their search demand activity.

1. Espresso Martini

If you love coffee and vodka in equal measures, here’s a drink for you: the espresso martini, a.k.a. vodka espresso. It is currently the top-trending cocktail, with a 22.44% increase in search demand.

How to Make an Espresso Martini

In a cocktail shaker, pour 1.69 oz of vodka, 1 oz of Kahlua coffee liqueur, 1 oz (i.e., one shot) of freshly brewed strong espresso, and 0.33 oz of sugar syrup. Add ice then shake. Over a strainer, pour it into a chilled shallow cocktail glass (e.g., a martini or a coupe glass).

2. French 75

French 75 is showing a 22.38% rise in search demand. Little wonder; what’s not to love with this Champagne cocktail? It is essentially delicious sparkling wine from the Champagne wine region made sweeter, tangier, and stronger.

How to Make a French 75

Pour 1 oz of gin, ½ oz of lemon juice, and 0.5 oz of sugar syrup into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, and then strain the contents into a chilled Champagne flute. Top with 2 oz of chilled Champagne.

3. Painkiller

The Painkiller is like the piña colada’s intrepid relative, and it has risen in search demand volume by 18.99%. It originated in the British Virgin Islands and is made with a navy-style or dark rum instead of the white or light rum used in the piña colada. Imagine a dark-rum piña colada with orange juice and a pinch of nutmeg – full of flavor and character, that’s what a Painkiller tastes like. It is called the Painkiller because it’s supposed to cure the pain of a hangover.

How to Make a Painkiller

Put ice in a cocktail shaker and put dark rum (2 oz), pineapple juice (4 oz), orange juice (1 oz), and coconut cream (1 oz ). Shake then, over a strainer, pour into a chilled highball glass with ice. Grate some nutmeg on top and garnish with a pineapple wedge.

Cocktails Falling Out Of Fashion

Which cocktails have become less popular? Below, we list the mixed drinks with falling search demand volumes.

1. Negroni Sbagliato

The search volume for negroni sbagliato has fallen by 60.02%, making it the fastest-falling cocktail in search charts. That said, we must put this number in its proper context.

In truth, the negroni sbagliato is most likely not falling out of fashion but simply returning to its default position. In October 2022, “House of the Dragon” actor Emma D’Arcy was asked what their favorite cocktail was. They said negroni sbagliato, and that simple mention caused a flood of online searches for it, as the Google global historical trends can attest. Now, the search volume for negroni sbagliato is settling back down to equilibrium, albeit at a slightly higher level than what it was pre-October-2022.

By the way, sbagliato is an Italian word that means “wrong.” Therefore, negroni sbagliato is simply wrong negroni. It’s wrong because negroni is a cocktail made of equal parts sweet red vermouth, Campari bitter liqueur, and gin, but negroni sbagliato is equal parts sweet red vermouth, Campari bitter liqueur and sparkling wine.

How to Make a Negroni Sbagliato

Follow the regular negroni recipe, but replace the gin with sparkling wine. Put ice in a chilled old-fashioned glass, then add 1 oz sweet vermouth, 1 oz bitter Campari, and 1 oz sparkling wine. Stir gently. Garnish with half an orange wheel.

2. Kir Royale

The second cocktail on this list is kir royale, which has fallen in popularity by 27.81%. It is like a regular kir, except you’ll replace the dry white wine with a dry Champagne.

Like the negroni sbagliato, this declining popularity is more of a return to its normal search levels than a fall from grace. It abruptly rose to fame when season three of “Emily in Paris”, which aired in December 2022, featured Emily sipping a kir royale.

How to Make a Kir Royale

In a chilled Champagne flute, add 0.33 oz of crème de cassis. Add 3 oz of Champagne.

3. Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary, the brunch essential, is in third place with a search volume decline of 23.96%. Fernand Petiot claimed he invented the vibrant red cocktail in 1934 at the St. Regis Hotel in New York. However, it’s more likely the bloody Mary was the brainchild of American actor George Jessel.

How to Make a Bloody Mary

In a mixing glass, pour 1.5 oz of vodka, 3 oz of tomato juice, and 0.5 oz of fresh lemon juice. Spike with two dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Next, add Tabasco pepper sauce, celery salt, and ground pepper to taste. Stir lightly and pour into an ice-filled, chilled highball or rocks glass. Garnish with a stalk of celery and, if desired, a wedge of lemon.

The World’s Most Followed Cocktail Connoisseurs

If you want cocktail ideas for your next get-together and tips on how to make them, there are people online who share cocktail recipes for at-home bartenders. Start your follow-list with these cocktail-focused content creators on Instagram.

1. Julianna McIntosh a.k.a. @join_jules

Julianna McIntosh or Join Jules lands top place with 631,627 followers on Instagram. Her followers must really like cherries, because two of her most-loved recipes are the frozen cherry daiquiri for two (232,474 likes) and Brazilian cherry lemonade (215,260 likes).

Join Jules is the CEO of Spritz Season, the author of Pretty simple cocktails, and the creator behind the “The Art of Drinking” podcast (@theartofdrinkingpodcast). She started as a cocktail blogger and shared cocktail recipes daily for those who wanted to mix drinks at home. Today, her topics have expanded to include travel, entertaining at home, and other lifestyle tips.

2. Stephanie Wahler a.k.a. @bevsbybeverly

Stephanie Wahler or @bevsbybeverly, author of the book Kindred spirits – cocktails for two, has 458,241 followers on Instagram and is the second most popular cocktail content creator on the platform. She regularly shares cocktail recipes. She has recipes for frozen cherry Coke, cucumber lime hugo spritz, spicy avocado margarita, and guava coconut batched cocktail.

However, one of her most popular Instagram posts is a gourmet bar snack. It’s frozen prosecco grapes (237,833 likes). They’re grapes soaked overnight in a mixture of 2 cups prosecco, 4 oz vodka, and 0.25 cup sugar then frozen for at least two hours. Yum!

3. @thirstywhale_

Justin Sajda or Thirstywhale is a professional landscaper and an avid skateboarder who loves making cocktails at home. He started creating home-bartending content during the pandemic lockdown and hasn’t stopped since. With 406,971 followers on Instagram, he’s the third most popular cocktail influencer on Instagram, posting recipes of various cocktails, including espresso martini, daiquiri, tiki negroni, and mango whiskey sour. He has a clarified cocktails series that includes clarified bees knees, clarified mai tai, clarified old fashioned, clarified margarita, and clarified jungle bird.

Creating The Perfect Cocktails at Home

Yes, you can make excellent cocktails at home. Just follow these tips, and you can improve the quality of your mixed drinks.

1 . Measure precisely.

Cocktails are all about balance, and measuring ingredients is key to achieving that. Measure even if you’re crafting your own drinks or adjusting recipes to your taste. This way, you’ll know how to replicate the recipes you loved.

Therefore, it’s best to use a scale to measure weight. If the recipe calls for liquid volumes (ounces, centiliters, milliliters), use graduated tools, like a measured cocktail shaker and jigger. This brings up the next point.

2. Use bar tools.

There are bar tools you can buy online that will make creating cocktails at home so much easier. A mixology bartender kit is an excellent investment for anyone who is passionate about home bartending. This will have all the essentials, including the following:

Shaker
Muddler
Strainer
Ice tongs
Bar spoon and fork
Double-sided jigger (0.5 oz and 1 oz)
Cork

If you’re just getting started, you can get a cocktail mixer set. The double-sided jigger, strainer, and pair of jugs should be sufficient for shaking and mixing cocktails at home.

3. Start with excellent ingredients.

Garbage in, garbage out applies to cocktails. Your drinks are only ever going to be as good as your ingredients.

Fresh ingredients: Use fresh ingredients when you can. This applies to anything you will use to flavor your drinks, such as mint leaves, oranges, lemons, limes, pineapples, cherries, mangoes, strawberries, etc. This applies whether you’re using them as is (cut, bruised, smacked, muddled), juiced, or blended. It may not matter as much for garnish, of course.
Caveat: If it’s juice you need from a fruit that is not in season or has to be imported to your country, it may be a good idea to experiment with a bottled or canned variant from a high-quality brand. Such juices were probably made right after harvesting, when the fruits were in season. Consequently, they might taste better than any juice you’ll make from off-season/imported produce. Again, this is just something worth trying to find out which suits you better.

Wine, beer, and spirits: Get a good brand of wine, beer, whiskey, vodka, brandy, rum, gin, and tequila. The quality of your alcohol has a clear and direct impact on the quality of your cocktails.

Liqueurs: Likewise, choose a good brand of liqueurs. Campari bitter liqueur, Chartreuse Jaune, triple sec orange, amaretto, amaro, aperitivo, espresso, limoncello, and many more are essential liqueurs. The other cocktail liqueurs you may add to your home bar essentials include crème de cacao, crème de cassis, crème de cafe, crème de menthe, and liqueurs made from apricots, grapefruits, blackberries, cherries, coconuts, bananas, melons, and more.

Other cocktail ingredients: Stock up on good-quality brands of other cocktail ingredients, including bitters, garnishes, juices and lemonades, flower waters, syrups, and tonic and soda waters.

4. Make syrups right.

You can make simple and rich syrups from scratch. The former is one part sugar and one part water, while the latter is two parts sugar and one part water. Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan on low heat, mix until the sugar has dissolved and let simmer.

Do not let the sugar-water mixture boil. That will lead to more evaporation than ideal. Once the mixture has simmered for several minutes, turn off the heat, and let the syrup cool completely. Pour it into a glass bottle and keep it in the refrigerator.

5. Consider the type of ice.

Cocktails are best served cold, so ice is essential. You put it in a shaker, mix it with drinks in the glass, crush it and top cocktails with it, or blend it with the ingredients in the case of frozen cocktails.

For shaking cocktails: Use a large ice cube or ice ball instead of standard ice cubes (the one you can make at home or buy from the grocery). Smaller ice pieces translate to a greater surface area and, thus, a faster melt-rate. By using a single block of ice (instead of many smaller pieces), you can shake your cocktails longer (about 15 seconds) and achieve better aeration and blending without over-diluting your mixture.

If you have no choice but to use standard-sized ice cubes, however, shake for a shorter amount of time. Cut the 15 seconds back to around nine seconds.

For icing drinks in a glass: The same rule applies. A single large ball, cube or block of ice will melt slower and prevent over-watery cocktails. Plus, they look better in the glass than standard ice-cubes.

For icing drinks in tall glasses: You may want to invest in a Collins spears ice tray. This will yield you long, rectangular blocks of ice that’s perfect for use in highballs, Collins, and longdrink glasses.

For blending and topping: You can use standard ice cubes for blending and crushing.

6. Chill your cocktail glasses.

Chill your cocktail glasses before use. You’ll want to put your glass in the freezer at least 30 minutes to two hours (or in the refrigerator for at least one to four hours) before you need it. You should also take it out only just when you’re about to pour.

However, if you don’t have time, fill your glass with ice cubes while you’re mixing the drink. Once you’re ready to pour, swirl the ice in the glass, throw it out, replace it with fresh ice (standard cubes, an ice ball, a large ice cube, or an ice block) if using, and pour the drink in.