The world’s best-selling cocktails in 2026
The Negroni rules for the fifth year running, the Amaretto Sour keeps climbing and the Sbagliato makes its debut. What the 2026 list from the world’s best bars tells us.
Every year the British magazine Drinks International asks a hundred of the world’s best bars — chosen for their international and regional awards — which classics sell best. The 2026 list, published at the end of April, is the most reliable snapshot there is of what people actually order at the bars that set the trends. And it says several things.
The top ten
- Negroni, at the top for the fifth year running.
- Margarita
- Old Fashioned
- Dry Martini
- Espresso Martini
- Daiquiri
- Aperol Spritz
- Paloma
- Whisky Sour
- Manhattan
What stands out is not who is there — more than half of the ten are over a hundred years old — but how little the top of the list moves. A Negroni is three ingredients in equal parts: easy to order, easy to remember and hard to get wrong, which is exactly what a bar with a queue is grateful for.
What is rising, and what is new
The Amaretto Sour is the clearest climber: last year it rose to 15th and this year it reaches 11th. It proves a drink with a bad reputation can be rehabilitated. The one served in the seventies with bottled sour mix has given way to a version with fresh lemon, egg white and a measure of bourbon to hold it up.
Two newcomers arrive. The Negroni Sbagliato — Campari, vermouth and sparkling wine instead of gin — appears for the first time, at 36th, and the list itself links it to the appetite for lower-alcohol drinks. The other is the Scotch Sour, the Whisky Sour made with Scotch.
Two more come back strongly: the Vesper, which was 48th in 2024 and now sits at 30th, and the Mai Tai, which had dropped nineteen places the year before and climbs back to 24th.
And what is falling
The Pornstar Martini is the year’s big loser: down fifteen places, to 26th. It is still among the fifty best sellers, but it is the steepest drop on the list.
Three trends between the lines
The Italian aperitivo rules
As well as the Negroni at number one, there are the Aperol Spritz, the Americano, the Boulevardier, the Negroni Sbagliato, the Milano-Torino and the Garibaldi. Seven drinks from the Italian aperitivo family among the world’s fifty best sellers.
The sour is the best-selling structure
The Margarita, the Daiquiri, the Whisky Sour, the Amaretto Sour, the Penicillin, the Pisco Sour, the Clover Club and the Bee’s Knees share the same skeleton: spirit, citrus and sweet. No other way of building a cocktail shows up as often.
Agave keeps growing
The Margarita at two and the Paloma at eight, plus the Mezcal Margarita and the Naked and Famous, which closes the list at 50 with mezcal, Aperol and Chartreuse. Tequila and mezcal are no longer a fad in these bars: they are part of the permanent repertoire.
How many you can make at home
More than thirty of the fifty have a recipe in this collection, from the top ten to lesser-known classics such as the Paper Plane, the Last Word, the Aviation and the Southside. If you want somewhere to start, start at the top: a Negroni needs no shaker, just three bottles and ice.