18 Worst-Value Cocktails To Order, Ranked

When it comes to ensuring that you get good value for your drinks, it's best to consult a seasoned bartender. We spoke to Stephanie Ringwood, who began working in the food and beverage industry in high school, then started working front-of-house jobs and bartending in her early 20s. These days, she's mostly just teaching; she has taught at the ABC bartending school in NYC for over 16 years now, helping aspiring bartenders get their licenses and learn how to make a proper drink.

According to Ringwood, drinks are of poor value when there's a larger-than-normal markup. "Bars will usually want a 20% pour cost," Ringwood explained. "20% of the cost of the drink is what they spend to make it, and 80% of the price of the drink is profit. So if a drink costs the bar $3 to make, they will list it at $15 to hit the 20% pour cost."

On this list, the cocktails are being evaluated for cost versus value, while taking into account alcohol content and typical ingredient quality. Still, if you're in a bar where you see fresh, beautiful ingredients being used, Ringwood says you should absolutely order a cocktail off the menu, and not worry about the bill. She notes, "A well-made cocktail, balanced, prepared with skill, garnished correctly, in a great atmosphere — to me, it is worth it every time."

"Same, same, same," Ringwood commented about ordering a classic Manhattan cocktail, remarking that this drink and the martini will always have about the same value. That's because the Manhattan is actually the cousin of the martini. The two drinks are made the exact same way: Two alcohols are poured into the shaker, and then stirred with ice to be cooled and combined. The difference is which alcohols are involved.

In a martini, you use vodka or gin and then a touch of dry vermouth; meanwhile, in a Manhattan, you swap the clear alcohol for whiskey, and the dry vermouth for sweet. The resulting liquid is a dark, bloody hue. Since the Manhattan is also made with just two alcohols and without a mixer, it's pretty hard for a bartender to mess it up, which means its value is less likely to vary. Similar to a martini, however, the nature of this drink means that it will be an expensive purchase, and unless you really love ordering a Manhattan, you could get the same amount of alcohol in a shot for a cheaper price, or a more fun cocktail for a similar price.

"The Old Fashioned is one drink that you see on almost every cocktail list," Ringwood explained. It's an easy one for bars to slide onto their menu. She explained, "Most bars have the ingredients on hand already for other drinks." That's because an Old Fashioned is simply made from whiskey, bitters, and sugar. This drink, when prepared in the classic way, is made by muddling your sugar with bitters and water, and then mixing it with whiskey.

The long list of steps here means that bars can charge more for the preparation of the drink since most drinks don't need muddling. However, there are ways for bars to cut corners, like using ready-made syrup rather than going through the muddling process. Ringwood said, "It is a drink that everyone loves, but is easily one of the most profitable drinks for a bar."

When you see the word "sour" in the name of a drink, that means that it's made with a mixture of lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg whites, which are used to create a foam when the drink is shaken. Not all sour mixes are created equal, however; some are made with all fresh ingredients to order, while others are mass-produced and tapped on the soda gun for easy access.

Ringwood doesn't think it's worth it to drink a whiskey sour made with a mix. "[If it's made] using a concentrate — a pre-made, artificial sour mix — it's probably not the best drink in the world. You would see those more at clubs and college bars."

How can you tell if a bar is using pre-made sour mix? Ringwood has a trick, "What I usually do is sit at the bar off and ask for a glass of water or club soda, 15 to 20 minutes before I order a cocktail." That way, she can observe the bartender's method, and make her own call about whether to risk ordering a whiskey sour.

The Tom Collins is a super-refreshing drink. Made with gin, lemon juice, and club soda, and traditionally topped with a delightful mixture of maraschino cherries and orange slices, this drink is usually offered as a special during the summer months.

Ringwood said, "I've worked at a couple of places where we made [a Tom Collins] with fresh lemon juice, fresh egg white, and simple syrup, and when you shook it, it was foamy and frothy, and people loved it." But unfortunately, not every place has the same resources to create a delicious Collins, "I've also worked at places where they have sour mix on the gun. It was probably not the best product." This is another drink where you're going to want to watch how they're making it before ordering.

A French 75 is a cute little classic cocktail that was probably originally named after a French 75-millimeter gun. Despite its potentially-dark history, the drink itself is very light and often served at brunch. These days, it's usually made with gin, Champagne, lemon, and simple syrup.

Because of the Champagne in the recipe, the French 75 gets what Ringwood calls the wine markup. She explained, "Wine has very little prep. Open the bottle, let them taste, pour... most wine will be marked up 300% of what they paid for it." That means a $20 bottle from a wine store can cost anywhere from $60 to $80 to order in a bar.

When it comes to the French 75, that means that each of these ingredients is getting a significant markup. "You're paying for the Champagne, you're paying for the ingredients... it's, you know, it's one of those that is probably going to get a big markup," Ringwood concluded.

"The espresso martini is extremely popular in the last couple years," Ringwood said. This drink is made in different ways depending on the bar — at some places, they have an actual espresso machine, while in others, there's a pot of coffee chilling in a fridge somewhere. Even the ingredients change: Bartenders add liqueurs like Kahlua, Baileys, or Creme de Cacao to elevate their espresso martinis, and some even swap out the classic vodka for a more flavorful hard liquor, like rum or whiskey.

The espresso martini's popularity has made bars go to lengths to make this complex drink more readily available. "I've gone to a lot of places that have it pre-batched on tap," Ringwood said. "All they do is just pour from the tap, shake it on ice, and strain it into a martini glass, so you're really cutting down on a lot of the prep there. Because of the popularity, it can be a big markup."

"I do enjoy a well-made, fresh-juiced, nicely-shaken marg," said Ringwood. But not all are made equal. In fact, Ringwood told us, "Margaritas you can mess up very easily."

That's because the margarita is another drink that can change a lot depending on what you choose to use in it. A classic marg only has three ingredients: tequila, triple sec, and fresh lime juice. Some bars, however, simply combine the tequila with a premade mix that includes juice from concentrate and a variety of artificial ingredients. A better bet in terms of quality is to order a Cadillac margarita, which is made with upgraded ingredients (swap tequila reposado for well tequila, and Grand Marnier for triple sec). It will cost you more but will be of a higher quality.

The relative value of Moscow mules is determined by the same principle as the mojitos: More specialized ingredients and more steps make your drink more expensive. Bars serving mules need to specifically buy ginger beer just for this one cocktail because the ingredient is rarely used in other drinks. The classic recipe also calls for lime juice, which you can't use a sour mix for. On top of all that, the drink is typically served in copper mugs — which constitute an additional overhead cost for the bar, and make the preparation of this drink more complicated for bartenders.

Ringwood also pointed out that the popularity of the mule means that bars will set the price of this drink at whatever the public is willing to pay, rather than a typical 20% pour cost. "If you want to add a Moscow Mule to your menu, but the cost of limes goes up, the price of the cocktail will go up," she said. "Also, if it does well at that price, when the price of limes goes down, they might not change the price to reflect that."

Ringwood told us that she's not entirely against shooters, which are shots of liquor with added mixers, shaken and poured into shot glasses. "If you're out and you want to have a great time, and you're with a bunch of friends, and you guys want to do a round of shots, you can always just be like, 'Up to you,' to the bartender, and let them do something for you," she said.

However, the value of having yourself a green tea shot or a red-headed slut shot (yes, that's a real drink name) is much lower than a real drink. You're paying for the liquor, the mixer, and the preparation, but you're not getting a whole cocktail. Instead, you're getting a drink that you're barely even going to taste.

Ringwood warns, "If you're looking for the highest value shot, do straight liquor. Do a shot of tequila. You're not sipping on it, you're not savoring it; you're throwing it back, you're probably gonna chase it. You don't need to spend a lot of money on a brand name."