Last, but certainly not least. What is the best classic cocktail?

It’s five ingredients. https://youtu.be/mbUB-jYsMd8?si=21DP3M1N_F0_6lt1

Old Fashioned stan here! Love it!

Old Fashioned !!!!!

Old fashioned. Literally the best.

Hell yeah

It’s gotta be Old Fashioned.

If you sat down at a bar 220 years ago and ordered a cocktail, you were ordering an Old Fashioned. It existed while Lewis and Clark explored the American West. People drank it by the light of oil lamps and tallow candles. It survived the rise of electricity, the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War, the roaring 20s, the Disco Age, the Space Age, the fall of the Berlin Wall…For hundreds of years, people have celebrated and mourned with Old Fashioneds. It is the ancestor to all modern cocktails, and remains one of the most beloved cocktails still today. The answer is Old Fashioned.

Rye please, but yes. From Sept - April this is the cocktail of choice. Proper amount of simple is the difference between meh and masterpiece

OLD FASHIONED IS THE ONLY OPTION HERE

Team Manhattan

You don't have to. Just choose Sazerac 😁

Why not have one of each?

That's exactly what's happening

I hope the final form is easy to read and has all the recipes.

Minus the whole swastika thing

Thank you!

Beyond sad this has so few upvotes, but it’s definitely my pick. By far the tastiest classic out there.

Hell yeah

The daiquiri is what I use to test all of my funky rums. If it can stand up to these simple ingredients and provide an interesting drink then the rum is definitely a keeper. I've done it with Haitian clairins, Hawaiian agricoles, high-ester Jamaicans and funky charandas as well as others from the collection. The daiquiri is so perfectly simple that with bolder rums it usually lets the rum shine without detracting and that's a winner in my book.

I would love to see the daiquiri win twice on here. The most simply delicious and versatile cocktail of all time.

This is the one. Idc who you are, but a classic daq doesn’t disappoint

And it can be modified to taste within the bounds of a classic "up" daiquiri with the choice of rum and variations in the syrup. I really like a daiquiri with Kuleana Rum Works Huihui, which is a blend of white Hawaiian agricole and two more regular white rums. It adds enough agricole flavor without being a full Martinique rum agricole.

Being honest with myself - I definitely haven’t tbh. I think I’ve only ever ordered a very over complicated version of a Daiquiri when I’ve gone out lol

All time favorite cocktail. It also serves as a great barometer for a new bar imo. If you fuck up a simple daiquiri I might not be ordering a second drink. But if you really knock it out of the park, I'm already getting excited to try something else

I did this last night but also with a Tommy Margarita. Those three simple ingredients epitomizes KISS: keep it simple stupid.

I'm torn between the Daiquiri or the Old Fashioned. They're both beautifully simple cocktails. I'll be happy if either wins. But it's crazy that the OF isn't on this list anywhere. Daiquiri is already getting love as underrated.

100% daiquiri is the king of cocktails!

Ask any bartender how they get to know another bartender. They'll all say daiquiri. That's good enough for me.

Easily top for me.

Indeed. Also, a bartender’s daiquiri probably reveals if any of the other drinks on the menu are worth a damn.

This is the one. The combo that it’s been a bastardized frozen theme park drink and/or cruise ship sour mix. It can be made crisp, simple and clean for a newbie, funky and complex to keep it interesting for rum fans, and muddled with strawberries or other fruit for someone who is expecting a cruise ship drink.

It does however require actually good rum, which means it's a no-go in a lot of bars.

All the time

Same, whenever I think of the last drink to order at a bar, I always ask for a Manhattan or black Manhattan

Manhattans forever

I'm drinking an old fashioned right now, and my vote is still Manhattan!

No contest. Maybe a dry gin martini but it’s a significant second for me.

The old fashioned's sophisticated cousin, which is why it should win. Still simple but plenty of room to customize and find your preferred recipe!

Black Manhattan is great- made with amaro instead of vermouth. Averna/ Montenegro/ Ramazotti DELICIOUS

I think a lot of people haven’t had a Manhattan with quality ingredients. If you’re using a bottle of M&R that’s been open for a month it’s not going to be anything special.

Manhattan.

Its synonymous with the word cocktail itself.

Definitely a Manhattan

This is the winner for me. But I am nervous about how many people are picking margarita. I feel like we need to have a chat with the old fashioned people and agree to combine our votes. I love a margarita but no way is it the BEST classic. It's gotta be Manhattan, or old fashioned as an acceptable second.

Manhattan over Old Fashioned any time for me!!!!

For me, a properly made Manhattan is the answer to “if you could only have one cocktail for the rest of your life what would you choose?” Emphasis on “properly made.”

The Old Fashioned is so popular on this sub I'm hoping everyone splits their votes between multiple OF comments and we return the Manhattan to its rightful place on top of the cocktail world.

A lot of "OF will probably win but..." in comments higher than this

The best answer. It’s the easiest to put together, approachable for beginners. As far as consumption, it still lets the spirit shine through, and can be customized to many different specs.  Any spirit works as well, and all bring something different to the table.