As a Bartender, 6 Cocktails I’d Pick Every Time – and 4 I’d Never Touch

Every bartender has a personal list. A mental catalog of drinks they’ll reach for with genuine enthusiasm, and a separate list of orders that make them quietly sigh the moment they hear the words. It’s not about being difficult or pretentious. It’s about knowing what a great cocktail actually is, and what it isn’t.

Over years behind the bar, you develop instincts. You learn which drinks sing when made properly, and which ones are just noise in a glass. So here it is, honest and unfiltered: the cocktails I’d personally pick every single time, and the four I’d pass on without a second thought. Let’s dive in.

Pick #1: The Negroni – A Perfect Drink in Three Ingredients

Honestly, if I could only ever make one cocktail for the rest of my life, it might just be the Negroni. It’s a timeless cocktail beloved for its perfect balance of sweet, bitter, and strong flavors, made with equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. Three ingredients. No fuss. Yet somehow it’s one of the most complex-tasting drinks on any menu.

The Negroni saw a surge in popularity throughout 2024, and this 100-year-old classic continues to appeal to those seeking a perfectly balanced and slightly bitter cocktail. That kind of staying power says everything. Bartenders favor the Negroni for several reasons: its simplicity allows for quick preparation on busy nights, and the balanced flavor profile is universally appealing, inviting creativity while maintaining the essence of the drink.

Pick #2: The Margarita – The Undisputed King of Cocktails

Here’s the thing about the Margarita: it just works, every single time. The margarita is still the undisputed king of cocktails and is forecast to be the top-selling cocktail in 2025. That title didn’t come from nowhere. As 2024 became the year of tequila and mezcal, the Margarita emerged as a top contender, made with tequila, triple sec, and lime juice, dominating menus especially in Mexican-inspired venues.

What I love most is its flexibility. Frozen, on the rocks, spicy, classic, it adapts to almost any mood or season. According to Distill Ventures, the global tequila market is expected to reach $30.06 billion by 2028, up from $19.76 billion in 2022, so the love affair with agave shows no sign of cooling. I think the Margarita is the perfect proof that great cocktails don’t need to be complicated.

Pick #3: The Espresso Martini – The Drink That Defied Time

I know it sounds crazy, but the Espresso Martini might actually be the most culturally significant cocktail of the past five years. Espresso Martini consumption increased from 2% to 15% in 2024, which is a staggering leap for any single drink. That’s not a trend. That’s a takeover.

The Espresso Martini’s resurgence has leveled off into sustained popularity – it surged back into the limelight in the early 2020s and as of 2025 showed no signs of slowing down, becoming one of the most Googled cocktail recipes. Bartenders are using cold brew concentrates, craft coffee liqueurs like Mr. Black, and better espresso shots to elevate the cocktail’s taste. When it’s made right, with quality ingredients, it genuinely is one of the best drinks anyone will ever order.

Pick #4: The Old Fashioned – Proof That Simplicity Wins

The Old Fashioned is the cocktail equivalent of a perfectly tailored suit. It never goes out of style, and it never tries too hard. Simple yet elegant, the Old Fashioned remains a whiskey lover’s go-to cocktail, made with muddled sugar, bitters, and whiskey or brandy, and its minimalistic approach and robust flavor make it a staple on bar menus worldwide.

What’s exciting right now is how much creative territory there is to explore with it. Bartenders are experimenting with new, sophisticated twists, like chocolate-infused Old Fashioneds using tequila and cocoa bitters for that tempting drink-dessert crossover. Cocktails like Old Fashioneds or classic Martinis, which emphasize the quality of the spirit, are often preferred by bartenders because they reward good ingredients. That’s always a sign of a truly great drink.

Pick #5: The Aperol Spritz – Low-Key, High-Reward

Let’s be real: the Aperol Spritz gets dismissed by snobs far too easily. But the numbers don’t lie. The Spritz was one of the 10 best-selling cocktails at bars and restaurants in the U.S. in 2024 and is increasing in popularity faster than other top 10 drinks, according to NIQ. That kind of data commands respect.

Spritz cocktails are light, bubbly, and incredibly refreshing, making them a staple at trendy cocktail bars, popular for their easy-drinking nature and lower alcohol content. From a bartender’s perspective, there’s also something genuinely satisfying about making a drink that makes people instantly happy. One of the most significant shifts in drinking culture from 2024 through 2026 has been the aperitif revival, the rise of low-alcohol, bitter or herbal drinks meant for sipping and socializing, with the Aperol Spritz as its poster child.

Pick #6: The Classic Daiquiri – The Most Underrated Cocktail Alive

Mention the word Daiquiri and most people think of a sugary frozen slush from a beachside tourist trap. That image does the real Daiquiri a massive injustice. The proper version, a clean shake of rum, fresh lime juice, and a touch of sugar, is one of the most elegant things a bartender can put in a glass.

The Daiquiri, made with rum, citrus juice, and sweetener, is a crowd-pleaser particularly popular during brunch hours, and its fruity and refreshing profile makes it a versatile choice appealing to both casual drinkers and cocktail enthusiasts. It’s also a drink that reveals everything about a bartender’s technique. The balance of sweet to sour, the quality of the rum, the freshness of the lime – every small detail shows. That’s exactly why I love making it.

Never #1: The Long Island Iced Tea – A Cocktail That Shouldn’t Exist

The Long Island Iced Tea is top of many bartenders’ grievance lists. This cola-flavored tipple is typically made up of five different spirits: vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and triple sec, and making one requires a bartender to walk the length of the bar to source each spirit. It’s chaotic, it’s slow, and it produces something that honestly tastes like punishment.

A Long Island Iced Tea can have an alcohol content of around 22%, and the high proof of this cocktail can lead to overly inebriated and problematic bar patrons. The sheer number of ingredients makes it an annoying ask for mixologists especially on busy nights, and the drink is not a particularly cohesive cocktail flavor-wise. It’s thought of as the choice of an unseasoned drinker, someone seeking a quick buzz, and any bartender who prides themselves on crafting balanced drinks simply cannot abide it. I think that about sums it up.

Never #2: The Mojito – A Beautiful Drink at the Worst Possible Time

Hear me out, because this one is slightly more nuanced. The Mojito is genuinely a delicious cocktail. But there is a time and a place. The mojito is one of the most notoriously disliked drinks for bartenders, and the reason is almost always the same: timing. Order one during a slow Tuesday evening and a good bartender will craft it with love. Order three on a packed Saturday night and you’ve just halted the entire operation.

A lot of bartenders hate making mojitos and other labor-intensive drinks that require a lot of muddling, because these orders slow down their workflow. If a bartender is too strapped for time, they may tell a patron the bar’s run out of fresh mint to avoid preparing the cocktail. It’s hard to say for sure how common that actually is, but the fact that it happens at all tells you everything you need to know about the drink’s reputation behind the bar.

Never #3: The Ramos Gin Fizz – A Beautiful Nightmare

There are cocktails that are difficult, and then there is the Ramos Gin Fizz, which is in a category entirely its own. Perhaps the most-loathed cocktail by bartenders, a Ramos Gin Fizz not only requires a lot of ingredients including gin, lemon, lime, cream, egg white, orange blossom water, sugar, and soda, but it takes a lot of time and elbow grease to make.

It’s described as a classic and delicious cocktail but a nightmare to see on a ticket. The reason is simply time: this cocktail can easily take 10 to 15 minutes to do correctly with no multitasking possible during this period, including around 8 minutes of dry shaking. Think about what that means on a busy bar during peak hours. One Ramos Gin Fizz can back up an entire service. It’s like asking a marathon runner to stop mid-race and fold laundry.

Never #4: Sex on the Beach – The Cocktail That Time Forgot

According to bartenders on Reddit, one of the worst cocktails to make behind the stick is the Sex on the Beach. It’s not just the sticky sweetness, it’s the whole package: the saccharine flavor profile, the lack of any real craft, and the fact that it often signals a guest who isn’t particularly interested in drinking well. It’s essentially a sugar delivery system with a memorable name.

Beyond the flavor question, the broader issue is what these kinds of intensely sweet, multi-juice cocktails represent. Bartenders most dislike drinks that are slow, inconsistent, risky, or create waste, especially when those drinks are low-profit or highly-customized. The Sex on the Beach ticks far too many of those boxes. There are so many better options in every direction, from a Cosmopolitan to a simple Tequila Sour, that I genuinely cannot imagine reaching for this one.