Do you want to wow your guests with your mixology skills? Or maybe you want to relax with easy cocktails after a long day. Whatever the case, you don’t need bartending experience or an electric hand mixer to make easy cocktails. With basic ingredients, you can enjoy classic drinks at home or create signature flavors. Experience the bar at your house with these easy, tasty mixed drinks.
1. Negroni
Reportedly from Italy, this drink has stolen the hearts of cocktail enthusiasts all over the world. These easy cocktails are popular not only in clubs but also in homes. You don’t have to follow the traditional Negroni recipe. For example, you can shake it instead of stirring or use orange peels instead of slices.
Another tweak is replacing gin with mezcal or rum. When it comes to vermouth, sweet is better than dry. Bartenders could make Aperol, Cyanar, or Cappelletti, Negronis, but it’s Campari that carries the day. The secret to a perfect Negroni is a gin-vermouth combination that complements instead of suppresses the Campari’s bold flavor.
Ingredients
- Orange peel garnish
- 1.5 oz. sweet vermouth
- 1.5 oz. gin
- 1.5 oz. Campari
Steps
- Put the ingredients in a glass with ice
- Stir until chilled
- Pour the mixture into a glass and add more ice
- Garnish the easy cocktails
2. Martini
It’s one of the most popular easy cocktails. The good news is you don’t need fancy ingredients for this recipe, just dry vermouth, and gin. However, you can give these easy mixed drinks a personal touch by swapping gin with vodka and dry vermouth with its wet or dirty alternatives.
You could also use olive instead of lemon garnish and shake the mixture instead of stirring.
Ingredients
- 2.5 oz. gin
- 0.5 oz. vermouth
- 2 olives or lemon garnish
- 1 dash orange bitters
Steps
- Chill an empty glass in the freezer
- Mix the gin and vermouth in a cocktail shaker
- Add ice and stir
- Pour the mixture into the chilled glass and stir
- Add orange bitters
- Garnish and serve as easy Halloween cocktails
3. Moscow Mule
Do you want easy winter cocktails to jumpstart your mind when it’s cold? Or are you looking for easy summer cocktails for sweltering afternoons? These easy cocktails are ideal for all seasons. Don’t fall for its name; this mixed drink isn’t from Moscow or any part of Russia. With its three ingredients, the drink is one of America’s easy cocktails; vodka for the bitterness, ginger beers for its sweet kick, and lime to balance the flavors.
Ordinarily, these easy cocktails arrive in copper mugs. While they’re part of the drink’s history, the cups maintain the drink’s temperature thanks to copper’s superior thermal conductivity. Copper also intensifies the easy cocktails’ fizziness for refreshing sips.
Ingredients
- 5 oz. ginger beer
- 0.5 oz. lime juice
- 2 oz. vodka
Steps
- Put crushed ice in a copper mug or glass and add vodka
- Squeeze fresh limes and throw the remainder in the drink
- Fill the container with ginger beer and mix your easy cocktails
4. Margarita
Margaritas are the perfect definition of easy cocktails; just combine lime juice with tequila and orange liqueur. But easy margarita cocktails aren’t limited to these ingredients. For instance, Tommy’s margaritas replace liqueur with agave nectar.
Regardless of your preference, add fresh lime juice instead of premade sour mixes. That’s because fresh juice has its original flavor, complementing the easy cocktails better. You could also add fruit chunks and herbs if you fancy an easy fruity mixed drink.
Ingredients
- 2 oz. tequila
- 1 oz. lime juice
- 0.5 oz. orange liqueur
- Kosher salt garnish
- Lime wheel garnish
Steps
- Salt the glass rim of your easy cocktails
- Add ice and squeeze limes into the tequila and liqueur combination
- Stir and garnish
5. Limoncello
The list of easy mixed drinks is not complete without limoncello. Although the origins of these easy cocktails are unclear, most accounts trace limoncello’s roots to lemon-growing regions around Sorrento. Some say local women made these easy cocktails to warm fishermen, while others argue limoncello was offered to monks after prayers.
Over the years, these easy cocktails have gone beyond Southern Italy to the rest of the world. Don’t be surprised when you see limoncellos among the easy wedding cocktails at your American friend’s party.
Ingredients
- 1 bottle vodka
- 1 glass simple syrup
- 10 lemons
Steps
- Peel the lemons, leaving the white pith intact
- Throw the peels in a jar, add vodka, and keep the concoction in a dark cabinet for one week
- Discard the peels and mix the infused vodka with simple syrup
- Stir and add more syrup as preferred
- Bottle the limoncello and store it in a dark place for one week to mellow the flavor
- Chill and serve your easy cocktails
Conclusion
There’s no better way to unleash a cocktail lover’s creativity than trying these easy at-home cocktails. What’re more, easy cocktails save you money. You don’t have to wait for a happy hour in crowded bars to enjoy your favorite drink. Moreover, you can adjust the ingredients to suit your taste. Do you know other easy cocktails?