12 Easy Cocktails to Make at Home (3 Ingredients or Less)

You don't need a fancy bar to make great drinks. All 12 cocktails below use three main ingredients or fewer, and most take less than two minutes. If you can measure and stir, you can make every one of them.

What you'll need: a jigger or measuring spoon, a shaker (a jar with a lid works), ice, and fresh citrus. That's enough to start. See our home bar essentials for more.

Shaken Drinks

1. Daiquiri

Rum, lime and sugar. Forget the frozen slushy version — the classic daiquiri is crisp, tart and perfectly balanced.

60 ml white rum
20 ml fresh lime juice
2 bar spoons fine sugar (or 15 ml simple syrup)

Stir to dissolve the sugar, then shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Full Daiquiri recipe.

2. Margarita

Tequila, triple sec and lime. Shake with ice and strain into a salt-rimmed glass. See our margarita guide.

3. Gin Sour (the base of a Gin Fizz)

45 ml gin, 30 ml lemon and 10 ml simple syrup, shaken. Top with soda and it becomes a Gin Fizz.

Stirred and Built Drinks

4. Negroni

Equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, stirred over ice. Bitter, bold and impossible to forget. Negroni recipe.

5. Manhattan

50 ml rye whiskey, 20 ml sweet vermouth and a dash of bitters. Stir and strain. Smooth and rich. Manhattan recipe.

6. Black Russian

50 ml vodka and 20 ml coffee liqueur over ice. Add a float of cream and it becomes a White Russian. Black Russian recipe.

Tall and Fizzy Drinks

7. Moscow Mule

Vodka, ginger beer and lime over ice. Spicy, cold and very easy to drink. Moscow Mule recipe.

8. Paloma

Tequila, a squeeze of lime, a pinch of salt and pink grapefruit soda. Many Mexicans prefer it to the margarita. Paloma recipe.

9. Cuba Libre

Rum and cola with plenty of fresh lime. The lime is what makes it a cocktail and not just a rum and coke. Cuba Libre recipe.

10. Americano

Campari and sweet vermouth topped with soda water. Light, bitter and low in alcohol. Americano recipe.

Sparkling Drinks

11. Kir

Dry white wine with a little blackcurrant liqueur (crème de cassis). Swap the wine for Champagne and you have a Kir Royale. Kir recipe.

12. Mimosa

Sparkling wine and fresh orange juice. The ultimate brunch drink. Mimosa recipe.

5 Rules for Easy Cocktails That Taste Great

Measure everything. Free-pouring is the fastest way to an unbalanced drink.
Use fresh citrus. Squeeze lemons and limes yourself. It makes the biggest difference of anything here.
Use lots of ice. More ice chills faster and melts slower. A half-full shaker gives you a warm, watery drink.
Shake drinks with juice. Stir drinks without. That one rule covers almost every recipe. More in shaken vs stirred.
Taste before serving. Dip a straw in. Too sour? A little syrup. Too sweet? A little citrus.

Make Your Own Syrup

Several drinks above use simple syrup. It's just sugar dissolved in water and takes five minutes. Here's how to make simple syrup, plus honey and ginger versions.