Not every popular cocktail made since the cocktail renaissance gets to earn the title of modern classic. From being delicious, featuring popular ingredients, being easy to replicate, the city it was made and more, there are many things that factor in when a cocktail starts to get recognition all around the world.
Thankfully, writer Robert Simonson wrote the book Modern Classic Cocktails, covering more than 60 of them. There he also explains modern classics in a very simple way: a modern classic must be popular, and people have to keep ordering it, not just during its initial moment, but for years afterward. The ten cocktails below, most of them born in the last two decades, have cleared that bar. None require rare ingredients or specialty equipment, just a solid understanding of technique.
Pornstar Martini
Created by Douglas Ankrah, the Pornstar Martini has become one of the most ordered cocktails in the UK and it’s instantly recognizable by its passionfruit half garnish and Champagne sidecar.
- 60mL · 2oz Vanilla Vodka
- 15mL · 0.5oz Passionfruit Liqueur
- 15mL · 0.5oz Vanilla Syrup
- 15mL · 0.5oz Lime Juice
- Pulp from 1.5 Passionfruits
- 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
- Passionfruit Half Garnish
- Chilled Sparkling Wine Sidecar
- Slice the passionfruits and add the pulp to a shaker, reserving one half for garnish.
- Add the vanilla syrup, lime juice, vanilla vodka, saline solution, and passionfruit liqueur.
- Add plenty of ice and shake hard.
- Double strain into a chilled coupe glass, to keep the pulp out of the final pour.
- Garnish with the reserved passionfruit half, and serve alongside a chilled shot glass of sparkling wine.
This is a sweet, exotic, and refreshing drink, so it’s no wonder it has remained so popular.
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Paper Plane
Paper Plane
Sam Ross built the Paper Plane as a modern take on the Last Word, originally with Campari before switching to the softer bitterness of Aperol.
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Bourbon
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Amaro Nonino
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Aperol
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lemon Juice
- 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
- Origami Paper Plane Garnish
- Add the bourbon, amaro, Aperol, lemon juice, and saline solution to a chilled shaker.
- Fill with ice and shake hard.
- Double strain into a chilled coupe glass.
- Garnish, if desired, with a paper plane.
Balanced, herbal, and citrus-forward, it’s one of the clearest examples of how a classic’s structure can be rebuilt with entirely different ingredients and still work.
Naked and Famous
Joaquín Simó created the Naked and Famous at Death & Co in New York in 2011, describing it as a cross between the Last Word and the Paper Plane. Its four ingredients, in equal parts, make it one of the simplest modern classics to remember.
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Mezcal
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Yellow Chartreuse
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Aperol
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lime Juice
- 1 dash 20% Saline Solution
- Add all ingredients to a chilled shaker.
- Add ice and shake well.
- Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. No garnish needed.
Tasting this cocktail is a smoky, herbal, and bittersweet experience, in that order.
Kingston Negroni
Simó also created the Kingston Negroni at Death & Co in 2009, swapping the Negroni’s gin for a funky Jamaican rum for a bolder, more tropical take on the Italian original.
- 30mL · 1oz Jamaican Rum
- 30mL · 1oz Campari
- 30mL · 1oz Sweet Vermouth
- 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
- Orange Peel Circle Garnish
- Build directly in a rocks glass over a large, tempered ice cube.
- Add all ingredients.
- Stir to combine, chill, and dilute.
- Express a small circle of orange peel over the glass and place it on the ice.
This Negroni twist is rich, bitter, and unmistakably tropical. The endless choices for great Jamaican rums also make this a cocktail that you can experiment a lot with.
Amaretto Sour
The Amaretto Sour existed long before Jeffrey Morgenthaler rebuilt it. His contribution was massive though, replacing sour mix with fresh lemon juice, egg white, and a float of cask-strength bourbon, turning a dated drink into a genuine modern classic.
- 45mL · 1.5oz Amaretto
- 30mL · 1oz Cask Strength Bourbon
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lemon Juice
- 5mL Gum Syrup
- 15mL · 0.5oz Egg White
- 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
- Lemon Peel and Maraschino Cherry Garnish
- Separate the egg white using a Hawthorne strainer, then whisk it briefly with a milk frother for easier measuring.
- Add the egg white and the remaining ingredients to a chilled shaker.
- In place of a dry shake, use the milk frother again to emulsify the mixture.
- Add ice and shake hard to chill, dilute, and further aerate the drink.
- Double strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice.
- Garnish with lemon peel and a maraschino cherry.
The modern Amaretto Sour has a lot more complexity than its 80’s counterpart. Nutty, creamy, and, despite the sweetness of its name, genuinely well balanced.
Gin Basil Smash
Jörg Meyer created the Gin Basil Smash in Hamburg, and it’s since become one of the most widely replicated modern classics behind bars worldwide.
- 60mL · 2oz Gin
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lemon Juice
- 15mL · 0.5oz Simple Syrup
- Handful of Basil
- 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
- Basil Bouquet Garnish
- Add the basil, lemon juice, syrup, saline solution, and gin to a chilled shaker.
- Muddle well.
- Add ice and shake hard, to help release more flavor from the basil.
- Double strain over a large, clear ice sphere in a stemmed lowball glass, keeping any small bits of basil out of the final pour.
- Garnish with a small bouquet of basil.
This drink is herbal, zesty, and refreshing. Do not be afraid to add more basil than you think you would need, Jeorg Himself adds a good amount to the cocktail, and when sales go down he tells people that basil is an aphrodisiac.
The Penicillin
Sam Ross’s second entry on this list, the Penicillin pairs Scotch with honey-ginger syrup and a float of peated Scotch for a smoky, honeyed sour that’s inspired countless riffs since.
- 60mL · 2oz Blended Scotch
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lemon Juice
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Honey-Ginger Syrup
- 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
- 1 barspoon Peated Scotch
- Candied Ginger Garnish
- Add the Scotch, saline solution, lemon juice, and honey-ginger syrup to a chilled shaker.
- Add ice and shake hard.
- Double strain into a lowball glass over a large, clear ice block.
- Gently float a barspoon of peated Scotch on top.
- Garnish with a piece of candied ginger on a cocktail pick.
Unlike Ross’s first entry, this cocktail goes in a smokey, honeyed, and rich direction. It’s a great introduction to peaty and smokey scotches too, as the flavor is an accent and not overwhelming.
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Espresso Martini
Dick Bradsell’s Espresso Martini remains the most recognizable coffee cocktail in the world, built on the simple idea of putting fresh espresso, vodka, and coffee liqueur into a single glass.
- 45mL · 1.5oz Vodka
- 30mL · 1oz Fresh Espresso
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Coffee Liqueur
- 1 barspoon Simple Syrup
- 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
- Coffee Beans Garnish
- Brew fresh espresso and add all ingredients to a shaker.
- Froth briefly with a milk frother for extra foam.
- Add ice and shake hard.
- Double strain into a chilled martini glass.
- Garnish with three coffee beans.
Rich, caffeinated, and velvety, it’s no wonder why once one Espresso Martini goes out, everyone starts craving one too.
Chartreuse Swizzle
Marco Dionysos created the Chartreuse Swizzle in San Francisco in the early 2000s, and its combination of just four ingredients, Chartreuse, pineapple, lime, and falernum, has made it a modern tiki standard.
- 45mL · 1.5oz Green Chartreuse
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Pineapple Juice
- 22.5mL · 0.75oz Lemon Juice
- 15mL Falernum
- 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
- Pineapple Leaves, Pineapple Wedge, and Maraschino Cherry Garnish
- Build directly in a long drink glass.
- Add all ingredients, then fill the glass about three-quarters full with crushed or pebble ice.
- Spin a swizzle stick quickly between your palms until a frost forms on the outside of the glass.
- Top with more pebble ice, mounded above the rim.
- Garnish with three pineapple leaves, a pineapple wedge, and a maraschino cherry.
Herbal, tropical, and aromatic. This is a cocktail that takes advantage of the high proof and concentrated flavor of Chartreuse, and then uses it to make something tropical and bright.
Oaxaca Old Fashioned
Phil Ward created the Oaxaca Old Fashioned at New York’s Death & Co in 2007, and its tequila-and-mezcal combination has since become one of the most influential agave cocktails of the modern era.
- 45mL · 1.5oz Aged Tequila
- 15mL · 0.5oz Mezcal
- 2 barspoons Agave Syrup
- 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
- 2 drops 20% Saline Solution
- Orange Peel Garnish
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass.
- Fill with ice and stir to chill and dilute.
- Strain into a lowball glass over a large, clear ice block.
- Flame an orange peel over the glass, expressing its oils, to echo the drink’s smoky character.
This Old Fashioned is smooth, complex, and smoky. And while it’s not traditional, a few dashes of chocolate bitters will take this cocktail even further.
