The 7 Best First-Date Drinks (2024)

Updated 06/26/20

• Manhattan

  

  Ah, the Manhattan. A masterpiece of the pre-Prohibition era, this drink is a perfect order on a first date. It’s an understated mark of good taste without the requisite eye-roll that accompanies a Martini order. It has the additional virtue of practicality: easy and quick to make (two ingredients, plus bitters).

  Get the recipe.

• Beer and a Shot

  

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  If the person you’re stepping out with can’t appreciate a cold tall can and a shot, you should maybe close out your tab right away. Yeah, yeah: This isn’t a “co*cktail.” That’s the point. It’s a fun, unserious drink order and that’s exactly what a first date should be. Of course, if more than one round of shots gets ordered, you’ve just crossed over from fun first-date territory into the messy hookup zone.

  Get the recipe.

• Old Fashioned

  

  Thanks to Mad Men, the Old Fashioned has either come back in style or become a trendy annoyance. The first camp is the right answer. A proper Old Fashioned is a thing of beauty, so order it somewhere you know makes it right: big ice cubes, no soda water, not too sweet and definitely no copious amounts of muddled fruit.

  If your date orders one of these and knows exactly which whiskey they want, you should start planning for your future together—now.

  Get the recipe.

• Negroni

  

  The Negroni has had a huge resurgence in recent years. Maybe that’s because it’s an elegant, beautiful drink that’s easy to make and the perfect start to a long night. Gary Regan said it best: "Want to impress your date? Order a Negroni. Want to impress your boss? Order a Negroni. Want to impress the bartender? Order a Negroni." So, yeah, order a Negroni.

  Get the recipe.

  Continue to 5 of 7 below.

• Vieux Carré

  

  Be warned, there are some stipulations to ordering this co*cktail on a first date:

  1. Only in a bona fide co*cktail bar. (Whipping out your phone to find the recipe for a bartender trying to rush out 10 Whiskey Gingers isn’t cool. It’s desperate.)

  2. Only if you have time on your hands. (Gulping down this New Orleans classic makes about as much sense as rushing through The Big Easy itself.)

  3. You have to know how pronounce it (“voe-car-ehhh”)

  Now that that’s out of the way, you should definitely, absolutely order this complex classic next time you’re meeting a stranger in a bar with well-oiled dark wood, leather-clad booths and low lighting.

  Get the recipe.

• 

  It’s a classic for a reason: light, refreshing and (nearly) impossible to mess up. It’s also a great budget drink, because as great as artisanal tonic and top shelf gin are together, a simple shot from the soda gun and two ounces of well gin work plenty fine. The secret reason, though, is that the G&T will always be the perfect order when the bar is packed. You don’t want a complicated drink request derailing your conversation.

  Get the recipe.

• Sidecar

  

  Ordering this tells your date that you have a good record collection and are confident enough to stray beyond the obvious classics. There’s a sugar rim and Cointreau for your sweet tooth, and a cognac backbone that keeps the whole drink walking tall. Definitely nothing to sneeze at.

  Get the recipe.