What’s the Best Booze for Cocktail X?

What’s the Best Booze for Cocktail X?

So you want to drink a martini. Congrats on making up your mind.

Now comes the hard part: Which gin do you use? Or what do you put in your Manhattan? Or your Mojito?

The answers, according to a contest, now in its first year, called the Ultimate Cocktail Challenge, are Tanqueray, Rittenhouse Rye, and Don Q Cristal, in that order.

Rather than simply reviewing spirits on their own, this cocktail competition evaluated spirits in popular recipes — dozens of them, in fact — to see which paired best with the other ingredients. The results: A unique and interesting way to look at spirits.

The results are of course just as subjective as any other booze review (and some of these spirits I don’t really recommend at all), but they’re certainly worth a look at least to get you thinking. Here’s the complete winners’ list. Get more information and a complete breakdown of scores here.

BEST GIN in a…

  • Aviation – TANQUERAY NO. 10
  • Dry Martini – TANQUERAY LONDON DRY
  • Gin & Tonic PLYMOUTH
  • Negroni – TANQUERAY LONDON DRY
  • Tom Collins TANQUERAY LONDON DRY

BEST VODKA in a…

  • Bloody Mary – VERMONT WHITE
  • Cosmopolitan – CHOPIN
  • Vodka Martini – ORZEL
  • Vodka & Tonic – TITO’S HANDMADE

BEST TEQUILA in a…

  • Margarita w/Cointreau – MILAGRO REPOSADO
  • Paloma – TRES AGAVES REPOSADO
  • Tequila Sunrise – TRES AGAVES BLANCO

BEST RUM in a…

  • Daiquiri – BANKS 5 ISLAND
  • Mai Tai – PLANTATION GRANDE RESERVE
  • Mojito – DON Q CRISTAL

BEST COGNAC/BRANDY in a…

  • Brandy Alexander – MARTELL CORDON BLEU
  • Brandy Julep – MARTELL CORDON BLEU
  • Sidecar – REMY MARTIN VSOP
  • Stinger – REMY MARTIN VS

BEST SCOTCH WHISKY in a…

  • Blood & Sand – HIGHLAND PARK 12
  • Rob Roy – MACALLAN FINE OAK 10
  • Rusty Nail – MACALLAN FINE OAK 10
  • Scotch Sour – HIGHLAND PARK 12

BEST NORTH AMERICAN WHISKEY in a…

  • Manhattan – RITTENHOUSE BOTTLED-IN-BOND RYE
  • Mint Julep – RITTENHOUSE BOTTLED-IN-BOND RYE
  • Old-Fashioned – WOODFORD RESERVE DISTILLER’S SELECT BOURBON
  • Sazerac – RITTENHOUSE BOTTLED-IN-BOND RYE
  • Whiskey Sour – WOODFORD RESERVE DISTILLER’S SELECT BOURBON

BEST ORANGE LIQUEUR in a…

  • Cosmopolitan – COINTREAU
  • Margarita – COINTREAU
  • Sidecar – PATRON CITRONGE

Christopher Null is the founder and editor in chief of Drinkhacker. A veteran writer and journalist, he also operates Null Media, a bespoke content creation company.

6 Comments

  1. Trob on April 27, 2010 at 9:46 am

    Despite the fact that Old Raj is clearly the answer for a dry martini, I’m glad Plymouth at least won the G&T. The whiskey section, on the other hand . . .

  2. Anonymous on April 29, 2010 at 9:45 am

    How can Riteenhouse rye be the best bourbon in a sazerec when it isn’t bourbon?

  3. Trob on April 29, 2010 at 1:05 pm

    Anon – I think you might be confusing the ‘bourbon’ in Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select Bourbon with a new category heading. Not to mention that listing the best bourbon for a sazerac would be a bit odd.

  4. Brian on September 1, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    It is odd that they list a rye as the best whiskey for a mint julep which is a bourbon drink.

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.