5 Essential Cocktails to Learn First

Now that you’ve landed your first bartending gig, what drinks should you learn first? Which ones are you the most likely to encounter while bartending your first shift? There are thousands of drinks out there, and many more ways to make them. You can’t memorize a whole bartending guide in a few days. So take a breath and focus on these five cocktails. The list that follows should provide you with a solid foundation in the trade while making you look like you know what you’re doing.

Manhattan

Place ice in a martini glass and set aside.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.

Add 2 oz. of Rye Whiskey (Look, it can be made with any type of whiskey but this is the standard. If they want it with something different, then they should request it. Makers Mark, Canadian Club, Jack Daniels, etc.)

Add 1 oz. of Sweet Vermouth (Again, Dry Vermouth can be used if it’s a Dry Manhattan or a ½ oz. of both if the order is for a Perfect Manhattan)

Add 2-3 dashes of Angostura Bitters

Stir for about 10 seconds.

Dump ice out of Martini glass you set aside earlier and strain the contents from the cocktail shaker into the glass.

Drop a cherry into the drink to garnish.

Margarita

Grab a mug, pint glass or whatever they serve the house margaritas in and dip the rim of the glass in roses lime juice or take a lime/lemon wedge and run it around the rim.

Dip the dampened rim into a plate of Kosher Salt. (Unless the customer has specified it without a salted rim)

Set the glass aside.

Grab a cocktail shaker or a highball glass that holds about 9-12 ounces. Fill either with ice.

Add in 1 ½ oz. of blanco or silver tequila. (It’s the clear looking bottle of tequila that you thought was Barcardi for a second.)

Add ½ oz. of Triple Sec (This will be down in the well of bottles set near ice or glassware for quick drink making. If they have a service bar for table orders, the well will be there.)

Add a dash of Rose’s Lime Juice.

Add 3 oz. of Sour Mix (This may be off the soda gun or in plastic pour bottle)

Add a dash of Orange Juice whatever kind they have.

Shake ingredients vigorously for 8-10 seconds.

Grab your salt rimmed, or not, margarita glass and fill it with ice.

Strain your shaken ingredients into the margarita glass.

Garnish with a wedge of lemon or lime or both and a straw.

Old Fashioned

In a highball glass drop a slice of orange and cherry

Add sugar on top, this can be 1 cube/ a ½ packet of table Sugar / 1 tsp of loose sugar whichever you have at your disposal.

Add 2-3 dashes of Angostura Bitters

Muddle all of this together for 8-10 seconds. Make sure it’s really mashed up together into a soup.

Fill the glass with ice.

Add 2-3 oz. of Bourbon.

Stir ingredients together for 10-12 seconds.

Strain contents into an ice filled old fashioned glass or any short glass available.

Add orange twist  to the rim and drop a cherry into the drink for garnish.

Cosmopolitan (Aka Cosmo)

Place ice in a martini glass and set aside.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.

Add 2 oz. of Citrus Vodka

Add 1 oz. of Triple Sec

Add ½ oz. of Rose’s Lime

Add a dash of cranberry juice (Off the gun or from a bottle of Ocean Spray)

Shake ingredients vigorously for 10-12 seconds.

Dump ice from the martini glass you set aside earlier.

Strain ingredients into chilled martini glass.

To garnish take a lemon twist and squeeze over top of the drink before resting the twist along the rim of the martini glass.

Martini                                                                 

Place ice in a martini glass and set aside.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.

Add 3 oz. of Gin or Vodka (Ask them Gin or Vodka? Then ask if they have a preference for brand?)

Ask guest if they take the drink dry—no vermouth, wet—vermouth, or dirty—olive juice added in.

Dry, add dash of Dry Vermouth to ice filled Martini glass that you set aside earlier.

Wet, add 1 oz. of Dry Vermouth to the gin/vodka in the cocktail shaker.

Dirty, add dash of Dry Vermouth to ice filled Martini glass that you set aside earlier before adding 1 oz. of Olive juice to the gin/vodka in the cocktail shaker.

Ask the guest if they want it shaken or stirred?

Shaken, then shake ingredients for 7-9 seconds.

Stirred, then stir ingredients for 8-10 seconds.

Grab ice filled martini glass and swirl the ice around inside the glass for 2-3 seconds before dumping it out.

For Dry or Classic Martini, garnish with a lemon twist just like you did the Cosmo from before.

For Dirty Martini, garnish with a speared Olive.

All of this you’ll soon be doing without even thinking about it. Now go make some drinks and money.

Cheers!