Occasion
Celebration cocktails
Celebration cocktails are allowed to be a little indulgent in a way an everyday drink isn't — more theatre in the build, more ceremony in the glass, often built around sparkling wine or a spirit worth toasting with. These are the drinks that mark an occasion rather than just accompanying one, which is exactly why they don't get made on a random Tuesday.
What celebration drinks have in common
Measured across the 55 recipes on this page, compared with the rest of the site.
- Strength
- Stronger than average — a median of 13% in the glass against 10% across the rest of the site.
- Effort
- Only 33% are built in the glass, against 48% elsewhere, so most of these want a shaker or a mixing glass.
- Difficulty
- 49% are rated easy, against 68% across the rest of the catalogue.
- Alcohol-free and low-alcohol
- 20% of this list is alcohol-free or low in alcohol, so there is something to serve everyone without making a separate drink.
If there is food involved
Fat coats the palate and dulls it. Acidity and carbonation both strip it back, which is why a sharp, cold, lively drink makes the second mouthful of something fried taste as good as the first.
Rich, fried and fatty food, and the drinks that meet it →55 celebration cocktails
Shirley Temple
Ginger ale and grenadine with a maraschino cherry — a bright, fizzy classic mocktail.
Brandy Alexander
Cognac, dark crème de cacao and cream, shaken smooth — a dessert cocktail dusted with nutmeg.
Death in the Afternoon
Absinthe topped with ice-cold Champagne — a stark two-ingredient drink credited to Ernest Hemingway.
Three Dots and a Dash
Dark and gold rum shaken with citrus, falernum and allspice dram — a spiced tiki classic named for its Morse-code cherry garnish.
Sparkling Cranberry Mocktail
Tart cranberry juice lengthened with soda and lime — a bright, festive-looking three-ingredient mocktail.
Roy Rogers
Cola and grenadine with a maraschino cherry — the cola-based sibling to a Shirley Temple.
