13 World-Famous Cocktails & Where To Enjoy Them
There is a mystique about legendary cocktails, especially those associated with famous bars in exciting cities.
In many cases, these world-famous cocktails are just as much a part of their city’s cultural heritage as the local gastronomy. And they are often still among the most popular drinks being mixed years after coming onto the cocktail scene.
As luck would have it, many of our favorite foodie cities have famous drinks to their credit as well. So, the next time you travel, think about forgoing that glass of white wine, and try one of the delicious drinks on this cocktail list.
World-famous cocktails are always better with a view.
World-Famous Cocktails List
We asked frequent travelers to share some of their favorite legendary cocktails and the destinations associated with them. So, sit back, grab your favorite bevvy, and travel the world learning about the origins and backstories of these delightful drinks.
1. Martini in San Francisco, California
The classic martini is one of the most popular drinks in the world.
The traditional martini, one of the most classic drinks in American bars, is one of the things San Francisco, California, is known for.
The earliest known recipe resembling the modern martini appears in Jerry Thomas' 1887 edition of The Bartender's Guide under the name “Martinez,” which is also believed to be the name of the drink’s inventor.
Over 100 years later, the martini is still one of the most popular cocktails in the world. And nowadays, there are many variations served in a martini glass. Modern classics like the Cosmo, the Gimlet, and of course the Espresso Martini, are all descendants of the original martini.
The cocktail’s association with famous personalities and its frequent appearances in classic Hollywood films like those featuring the debonair James Bond helped cement the martini's legendary status.
The traditional martini recipe calls for just two simple ingredients, gin and dry vermouth, although vodka can be used as a substitute for gin. The ratio of gin to vermouth can vary, ranging from a traditional 2:1 mix to 5:1 or 6:1 for a dry martini. Garnish yours with a lemon twist or olives, depending on your personal preference.
There are endless places to drink martinis in San Francisco, but my two favorites are Tadich Grill and Top of the Mark. Tadich Grill is the oldest continually running restaurant in California, and all foodies should put it on their San Francisco itinerary. With spectacular views of the city, Top of the Mark is the perfect place to sip at sunset. Why not try both?
While in the City by the Bay, check out these top-ranked SF food tours!
2. Daiquiri in Havana, Cuba
Daiquiri photo and recommendation by Travels with Talek.
Although the Floridita bar in Havana claims to be the birthplace of the daiquiri, the drink actually had a much more roundabout origin, as did many other Cuban cocktails.
Legend has it that American mining engineer Jennings Cox and his friend, Italian Giacomo Pagliuchi, were hanging out at Jennings' home outside the eastern Cuban mining town of Daiquiri. The pair had friends over and realized they had run out of gin to serve, so they improvised with white rum mixed with sugar and a squirt of lime. The drink was a hit, and Pagliuchi named it "Daiquiri" in honor of the town.
Shortly thereafter, Pagliuchi traveled to Havana and introduced the drink to the owner of El Floridita, Catalan immigrant Constantino Ribalaigua. Knowing a good thing when he saw it, Ribalaigua tinkered with the recipe until he perfected it, resulting in the cocktail we are familiar with today.
The true architect of the daiquiri's fame, however, is the American writer Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Cuba for many years following his time hanging out at the famous cafes of Paris.
Hemingway frequented El Floridita throughout his stay in Cuba and would always start and finish his visit with a daiquiri. That's how the daiquiri, sometimes called the “Hemingway Daiquiri,” became one of the world’s truly legendary cocktails.
Today, a life-size bronze statue of Hemingway sits at the far end of the bar where Hemingway himself usually sat. It provides a prime photo opportunity for the many tourists who come to visit this legendary drinking spot.
3. French 75 in Paris
French 75, a famous cocktail from Paris
From French crepes and other amazing Parisian desserts to the street food of Paris and its many iconic specialties, there’s no doubt that Parisian food is more famous than the city’s cocktails.
However, the French 75 has survived two world wars and is still going strong. It was even in the classic movie Casablanca!
The French 75 cocktail, often credited to the iconic bartender Harry MacElhone, dates back to World War I. First concocted in 1915 at Harry's New York Bar in Paris, the drink was named after the French 75mm field gun, a piece of artillery renowned for its power and precision.
The cocktail's potency drew parallels to the gun's recoil, making it a popular choice among soldiers and civilians looking for a strong yet refreshing beverage during the war.
The classic French 75 is a delightful blend of 2 ounces of gin, ½ ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of sugar, all shaken well with ice.
The mixture is then strained into a champagne flute or coupe glass and topped off with 2 ounces of champagne. A lemon twist garnish completes the presentation, adding a touch of citrus aroma that enhances the refreshing cocktail.
For those looking to experience the French 75 in its most authentic form, consider its birthplace, Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. On the U.S. side of the Atlantic, Arnaud's French 75 Bar in New Orleans is another excellent destination at which to enjoy this classic.
4. Margarita in Rancho La Gloria, Mexico
Margaritas photo and recommendation by Travel Mexico Solo.
The Margarita, the beloved Mexican cocktail, was said to have been invented back in 1938 by Carlos "Danny" Herrera. He crafted the famous adult beverage at his restaurant Rancho La Gloria, located between Tijuana and Rosarito, one of the best beach towns in Mexico.
Danny created the Margarita for one of his regular customers, Marjorie King. She was a dancer in the Ziegfeld Follies Broadway review, which was quite a famous production at the time. King spent time in Mexico negotiating the purchase of a hotel.
She ate the delicious Mexican food at Danny's restaurant often, and had a special dietary request. It turned out Marjorie was allergic to all spirits except tequila, so a custom tequila cocktail was made for her—and eventually named after her as well.
To make a classic Margarita, combine 2 ounces of tequila, 1 ounce of orange liqueur (like Triple Sec, Grand Marnier, or Cointreau) and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Originally, the drink was served shaken and poured over ice, with a salt-rimmed glass. Nowadays, frozen Margaritas blended with ice are just as common, and they are typically served in a fancy Margarita glass.
5. Manhattan in Manhattan, New York
Manhattan photo and recommendation by Ally Travels.
Drinking a Manhattan cocktail while visiting Manhattan is basically a requirement for tourists. It’s the best way to kick off a night out on the town.
The Manhattan is a cocktail made of rye, sweet red vermouth, and Angostura bitters, with a cherry thrown in for good measure. Maraschino cherries used to be the norm, but some fancy bars are now replacing them with marasca cherries.
The popular drink is thought to have been created in the late 1800s at NYC’s The Manhattan Club. Supposedly it was first made for New York Governor Samuel Tilden during his presidential campaign party.
Unfortunately, the fabled downtown social club closed ages ago, but there are still plenty of delicious spots to imbibe this iconic drink.
As a local, I’ve settled on The Waldorf Astoria (which created the first Old Fashioned) as my favorite spot. There, they whip up a mean Manhattan in the hotel’s gorgeous bar.
I highly suggest splurging and booking a stay, so that you can sip Manhattans (and a few Old Fashioneds) all night long. The only hitch is that this landmark Art Deco stunner is currently undergoing renovations, but it is scheduled to reopen later this year.
If you miss out on drinking at The Waldorf Astoria, just head uptown to Bemelmans inside The Carlyle Hotel. This classy Upper East Side hotel serves up a delectable Manhattan along with outstanding live jazz shows.
6. Aperol Spritz in Venice, Italy
Aperol Spritz photo and recommendation by Italy Foodies.
The Aperol Spritz, aka Spritz Veneziano, is a wonderfully light wine cocktail traditionally served as an aperitivo in Italy. It is so popular, it’s even served with street food in Venice!
Originating during the 1800s in the traditional cicchetti bars in Venice in northeast Italy where prosecco wine is produced, the cocktail can now be found throughout the country.
The basic recipe consists of just a few ingredients: prosecco, Aperol, and soda water. In fact, the term Aperol comes from the word apero, Italian slang for aperitivo.
Prosecco may be the main ingredient, but it’s the Aperol that gives its namesake cocktail its distinct, slightly bitter, but refreshing flavor. Bright orange Aperol is made with a secret combination of ingredients that include the herb gentian, rhubarb, and an extract from the cinchona tree, which is believed to increase appetite and aid digestion.
An Aperol Spritz is classically made by combing 3 parts prosecco, 2 parts Aperol, and a splash (spritz) of soda water in a wine glass filled with ice and garnished with a slice of orange or orange peel. But today there are as many variations as there are cafes and bars serving the drink.
The popularity of the cocktail is evident throughout Italy in cities like Bologna, Rome, and Milan. Now, the Aperol Spritz is amazingly popular outside of Italy too. Some rank it as one of the bestselling cocktails in the world today!
7. Vieux CarrÉ in New Orleans, Louisiana
Vieux Carré photo and recommendation by Have Clothes, Will Travel.
Walter Bergeron is credited with bringing to life the famous Vieux Carré. This classic cocktail came to be in the 1930s at the legendary Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
It was named after the French phrase that means “old square” (referring to the French Quarter). The Vieux Carré was made famous by Stanly Srisby Arthur’s 1937 book Famous New Orleans Drinks and How To Mix Them.
The Vieux Carré is made with a potent but delicious combination of brandy, rye, bitters, vermouth, and Benedictine. It’s a strong drink that is meant to be sipped carefully.
This is especially true if you try the Vieux Carré at the Hotel Monteleone Carousel Bar itself. That’s because this bar is a carousel that actually rotates! It’s a truly unique experience to have a cocktail here, and doing so should be included in any New Orleans itinerary.
There are many great hotels to choose from in the French Quarter, but none are as unique and decadent as the Hotel Monteleone itself. Book a stay in the Monteleone in one of their luxury rooms and you can have the Carousel Bar & Lounge just down the stairs!
For more on what and where to eat in NOLA, read New Orleans Bucket List Foods.
8. Caesar in Calgary, Canada
Caesar photo and recommendation by Destinationless Travel.
There is no cocktail more popular and unique to Canada than the Caesar. Made from Clamato juice, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and vodka, this cocktail is definitely an acquired taste that almost all Canadians grow to love.
It is a hearty cocktail generally served in a glass rimmed with spices and garnished with a pickled bean.
A common mistake is to compare a Caesar with a Bloody Mary. However, Caesars are made with Clamato juice as the main ingredient, and whereas Clamato is a blend of both tomato and clam juice, tomato juice flies solo in Bloody Marys.
Clamato juice is hard to find in most countries around the world, but in Canada, it is available in every supermarket and convenience store!
Rumor has it that the Caesar was originally invented in 1969 by Walter Chell in Calgary, Alberta, at the Westin Hotel. Chell was the hotel’s restaurant manager at the time, and his invention took off!
Soon after his drink first appeared, bars and restaurants across the country started serving Caesars, and the new sensation quickly became the iconic cocktail of Canada.
In fact, the world-famous Calgary Stampede now hosts an annual Caesar competition to find the very best of the best version of this beloved drink.
In the most recent competition, a bar from a tiny town in central Alberta called Sylvan Lake won with its smoked Caesar garnished with steak—unique but delicious! Old school or new wave, the Caesar remains a legendary cocktail.
9. Mai Tai in Hawaii
Mai Tai photo and recommendation by This Hawaiian Life.
Hawaii is always a fun place to have a fantastic cocktail oceanside or while watching a gorgeous sunset close to the water. And what's more iconic than the Mai Tai.
Known as the tropical drink that one should try on the islands, a Mai Tai originated when Tiki culture and Hawaii combined. Today, every restaurant and bar has its own signature drink recipe for a delicious Mai Tai.
A Mai Tai is made primarily with dark and light rum, Curacao liquor, orgeat syrup, lime juice, pineapple juice, and orange juice. It is finished in a variety of ways.
The flavor profile is tropical fruit with rum and coconut notes. The drink is traditionally served in a short glass with fruit garnishes, and, of course, one of those ubiquitous paper umbrellas to boot.
In Hawaii on a hot day, or more typically pau hana (“at the end of the day,” or “after work”), all the restaurants, bars, and hotels serve up this cocktail as the most popularly ordered drink to enjoy on the islands.
Some preparations have shortcuts with prepared cocktail mixes, but it's always better prepared fresh, and you can definitely taste the difference.
Happy hour in Hawaii is always fun and less expensive than any other time of day, with some additional pupus (appetizers) to enjoy with your cocktail. It doesn't get any better than having a Mai Tai on the islands with a beach view, or better yet a sunset, to enjoy your end of the day in Hawaii.
If you are visiting Oahu and looking for a classic Mai Tai, consider going to the landmark Royal Hawaiian Hotel located oceanfront and hard to miss.
With its long history, hallmark pink hue, and welcoming spirit of Aloha, the hotel is the ideal place to enjoy a fantastic view and cocktail at the same time in the iconic Mai Tai Bar.
In the morning, the hotel’s Surf Lanai Restaurant serves Pink Palace Pancakes, one of the must-try foods of Honolulu. Many breakfast-goers choose to complement their pancakes with a Mai Tai so that they can toast the sunrise coming up over Waikiki Beach.
10. Mojito in Havana, Cuba
Mojitos photo and recommendation by Travels with Talek.
Let's start with where NOT to have a mojito in Havana. La Bodeguita del Medio is a bar on a side street off Plaza de La Catedral, or Cathedral Square, in Old Havana. American writer Ernest Hemingway frequented this bar, and many others, while he lived in Havana in the 1950s. It became well known that the writer patronized the bar and that he would always have a mojito there.
Today the Bodeguita del Medio is a major tourist draw because of its association with Hemingway. It is a local cliché that tourists go there to have a mojito and write their names on the wall as Hemingway did. The mojitos, however, do not live up to the hype, and there are many other places you can go to have a really good mojito in Havana.
Legend has it that an early version of the mojito was created by indigenous people in Cuba who used a form of aguardiente (an alcoholic beverage made from fermented fruit juices) combined with lime and mint as medicine to cure some diseases.
When the Spaniards arrived in Cuba, they realized the drink's medicinal qualities were indeed effective for treating some diseases, notably scurvy. The buzz patients received after self-medicating was an added bonus.
Unsurprisingly, the drink's popularity grew over the years, eventually transforming into what is today one of the most refreshing and popular legendary cocktails, not just in Cuba but around the world.
So, where should you have a perfect mojito in Havana nowadays? The drink turns up on every cocktail list in Cuba, but El Dandy on Plaza del Cristo in Old Havana is the ideal place to enjoy yours. The only challenge is getting in, because the spot is always crowded!
11. Limoncello Spritz on the Amalfi Coast, Italy
Limoncello Spritz photo and recommendation by The Casual Foodist.
Few places embody la dolce vita quite like Italy's Amalfi Coast. Sun-drenched cliffs spill into the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean, and life here is best savored with a cocktail while admiring the views.
The Amalfi Coast is famous for its lemons, incredibly fragrant and often as big as your head. Locals use this bounty to create limoncello, a deliciously sweet lemon aperitivo. It is made by soaking lemon peels in alcohol to extract their citrus flavor and then mixing the resulting liquor with a sugar syrup.
Limoncello is delicious served chilled as is, but you can also follow the lead of Il Tridente Cocktail Bar at the Hotel Poseidon in Positano and use limoncello as the base of a spritz.
The Limoncello Spritz is a mix of limoncello, prosecco, and soda water that's as sunny and effervescent as the Amalfi Coast itself.
For more information on the local food and other drinks of the area, read:
Naples Street Food
Food of Campania
Food in Naples, Italy
12. Singapore Sling in Singapore
Singapore Sling photo and recommendation by La Vie En Marine.
The Singapore Sling comes to us from the Asian country of Singapore. This world-famous cocktail was crafted over a century ago by Bartender Ngiam Tong Boon when he was working at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.
The original cocktail consisted of a combination that was ¼ lemon juice, ¼ dry gin, and ½ Cherry Brandy, shaken and strained into a tall glass, and then topped off with soda water. However, over the decades, the drink morphed into many different versions.
A drink recipe book would present a recipe that would become the official version for years. Then, another mixology book would publish a somewhat different recipe that would start its own multi-year run.
As a result, today’s Singapore Sling is different from the original version. What remains the same is the gin base and the fact that this libation is still a refreshing drink on the verandah of Singapore’s Raffles Hotel, or anywhere else.
So, if you're visiting Singapore, drinking a Singapore Sling should be high on your Singapore bucket list.
13. Piña Colada in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Piña Colada, one of the most famous cocktails in the world
No list of world-famous cocktails would be complete without the national drink of Puerto Rico, the Piña Colada. The sweet, creamy, rum-based cocktail has become synonymous with tropical vacations and poolside bliss.
This iconic drink was first created in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the Caribe Hilton Hotel. It is there that bartender Ramón "Monchito" Marrero is said to have made the first Piña Colada in 1954.
Marrero spent months perfecting the blend of rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice, aiming to capture the essence of the tropics in a glass.
The original recipe calls for white rum, which provides a clean, light base that complements the sweetness of the other ingredients. Coconut cream is crucial for achieving the cocktail's signature creamy texture and rich tropical flavor. Freshly squeezed pineapple juice is essential to capture the cocktail's refreshing, tangy notes.
To prepare, blend these ingredients with ice until smooth, creating a slushy consistency perfect for sipping on hot days. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry for an elegant touch.
Where's the best place to try one? Visit the reputed birthplace of the Piña Colada, the Caribe Hilton Hotel, and savor the original recipe in a setting steeped in history.
Trying These World-Famous Cocktails
Whether you're a seasoned traveler, foodie, or cocktail enthusiast, I hope that in reading this article, you have found a new beverage to try!
For the most authentic experiences, there's no better place to enjoy these famed cocktails than in their birthplace.
However, mixologists at cocktail bars all over the world can usually whip up a version of the most well-known alcoholic drinks with no problem.
And keep in mind that a cocktail doesn’t have to be famous to be enjoyed. I discovered one of my all-time favorites in the Colorado foodie destination of Breckenridge.
The Breckenridge Distillery crafted its very own incredibly tasty bourbon cocktail called The Herbalist. I fell in love at first sip, and I am still making this incredible drink at home for friends and family!
What’s you’re favorite cocktail? Let us know in the comments!
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