The 40 Absolute Best Cocktails That Feature Only 2 Ingredients

How often do you have guests in your house, a couple of liquor bottles, a simple mixer or two, and no idea what to make for the group? It turns out you don't need a lot of complicated ingredients to create a delicious drink. You can make a staggering amount of cocktails (over 40, in fact) featuring just two ingredients, by yourself, at home. 

Whether you enjoy some classics or prefer lesser-known drinks, learning how to whip up a two-part cocktail is valuable knowledge. That way, you can not only impress your guests with tasty homemade drinks but also enjoy a nightcap or bubbly brunch accompaniment without any fuss or a trip to the liquor store. 

From classic gin and tonics to Jean Harlows and Garibaldis, it may take a lot less to become an expert bartender than you expected ... at least when it comes to these simple but tasty, two-ingredient cocktails. No matter what liquor you prefer, or even if you don't prefer hard liquor at all but would rather stick to beer and wine, you will find at least one cocktail recipe that works for you.

Though originally made exclusively with gin, today, Greyhound cocktails can be had with either gin or vodka, plus grapefruit juice. As with most cocktails, this drink will taste better if you happen to have fresh grapefruit juice (or whole grapefruits you can juice yourself) in the house, but canned juice will also do in a pinch. Make a Greyhound by putting ice in a rocks glass, adding your liquor of choice, topping it with grapefruit juice, and then stirring the mix. This cocktail is a refreshing option for summer or daytime drinks.

Way before the espresso martini was popular with cocktail and caffeine lovers, the Black Russian was the beverage that gave an extra coffee-flavored kick. To get the perfect mix for this drink, just use one part Kahlua to two parts vodka. Pour both over ice in a small tumbler, sometimes called an Old Fashioned glass, and gently stir them together. Some people like to serve Black Russians as an after-dinner cocktail in place of coffee, as your guests will have that smooth vodka flavor cleanse their palate and get a small caffeine boost.

The slightly stronger-flavored but also higher-calorie alternative to a vodka soda is a vodka tonic. Though both are pretty similar, vodka tonic consists of vodka mixed with tonic water instead of club soda. The difference is that tonic water has a little bit of added sweetener as well as quinine, which introduces a bittersweet note into the mix. This makes the classic vodka tonic a nice palate cleanser and creates a more nuanced, complex flavor profile than a vodka soda contains.

For many cocktail lovers, Sunday brunch isn't complete without a mimosa. Since this drink combines Champagne and orange juice, a classic breakfast beverage, it lends itself to daytime drinking. The best thing about mimosas is that you can easily make a big batch to serve to guests. To make a mimosa, mix equal parts orange juice and Champagne or orange juice and any other sparkling wine you happen to have on hand. Make a glass for yourself or a pitcher for a gathering, and simply serve it in Champagne flutes.

If you have a bottle of white wine, preferably dry, and crème de cassis (blackcurrant liquor) on hand, try crafting a classic Kir cocktail. First, pour ¼ ounce of crème de cassis into a wine glass, then pour five ounces of your favorite dry white wine on top of it. You can adjust the amount of blackcurrant liquor depending on how sweet you want the drink to be. Since Kir is mixed with wine, this cocktail has a pretty low alcohol content and makes for a very fun dinner or house party drink.

White and red wine spritzers make ideal drinking choices for a warm summer day, as they are both refreshing and low in alcohol content. Add a glass of white or red wine with chilled club soda and ice in a tall wine glass. When we say chilled, we mean as cold as possible. One tip is to put your club soda in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes. If you're not sure what wine to use, red wine spritzers like the sangiovese, grenache, and others tend to work quite well for this cocktail.

Classy yet simple, the Godfather cocktail is one of the rare sophisticated drinks that takes almost no time or special effort to make. Combine three parts Scotch whisky and one part amaretto liqueur in a rocks glass, preferably over a large ice cube. Stir them together, and you're ready to go, and by go, we mean drink. In case you're wondering, yes, the cocktail does get its name from the Academy-Award-winning 1972 film of the same name, which featured Scotch on the rocks in multiple pivotal scenes.

The Cape Codder, or Cape Cod cocktail, is also simply referred to as a vodka cranberry. To make it, fill a highball glass with ice, then pour 1½ ounces of vodka and five ounces of cranberry juice into the glass. Stir the two ingredients together with the ice to mix them well and create a refreshing, somewhat sweet drink. If you can, garnish it with a lime wedge. The good news is you don't need to take out your best vodka, as the relatively strong flavor of the cranberry juice will influence most of the drink's flavor. 

Another great cocktail for group get-togethers, the Screwdriver is delicious and easy to make in bulk. Best of all, it goes down well at any time of day, from brunch hours to late-night gatherings. Though you can adjust the drink's proportions to your liking, most recipes feature two parts vodka to three parts orange juice. The secret to making a good Screwdriver is to use fresh orange juice and keep all the ingredients, as well as the final mixture, as cold as possible.

If you feel your energy flagging during a night out and want to keep the party going, you might reach for a vodka and Red Bull. The Red Bull gives you a caffeine boost, and the flavor is so strong that you will barely taste the underlying vodka. Pour two ounces of vodka over ice into a highball glass, then top it up with a can of Red Bull (or as much as you can fit). The key to preserving a decent flavor is to keep the cocktail as cold as possible. 

Malibu rum is used in a whole lot of fruity drinks. However, the original and simplest two-ingredient Malibu cocktail combines Malibu rum and pineapple juice and remains one of the best drinks to make with this spirit. The recipe is simple: pour one part Malibu rum with two parts pineapple juice into a highball glass over ice. Mix well. This refreshing, tropical cocktail is best enjoyed in the summer months. If you have other types of fruit juice, you can add them in and expand the drink into a three or four-ingredient cocktail as well. 

The Paloma has rapidly become an extremely popular drink throughout the world, thanks to its light, refreshing taste that still leaves you with a buzz. Though there are variations on this cocktail, our favorite is the classic two-ingredient Mexican Paloma version that combines tequila and grapefruit soda. To make it, simply mix one part tequila blanco with two or three parts grapefruit soda, depending on how strong you want to make them. If you have other ingredients on hand, you can add an optional lime wedge garnish and salt or Tajín on the rim. 

The Gibson cocktail's two ingredients may sound similar to a martini; after all, it's a combination of dry vermouth and gin. In fact, many bartenders would argue that the Gibson is probably the best version of the many martini variations and one of the easiest to make. So how is it different than a regular dry martini? Well, the Gibson cocktail is garnished with a cocktail onion rather than an olive, which gives it a different flavor profile, tilted more towards an earthy rather than a briny taste.

First crafted at least as far back as the 1890s, the ginger ale highball is another great drink for people who like to taste whiskey, but not have the flavor overpower them. The word highball itself comes from a combination of the old Irish/English use of "ball" to denote a glass of whiskey, combined with "high" because of the tall glass used to serve it. Top off about one-and-a-half ounces of rye whiskey with ginger ale to make this slightly fizzy drink. Some people substitute bourbon for rye whiskey. 

Though the name may be a mouthful, the two-ingredient Spanish kalimotxo cocktail is really simple to make, combining red wine and Coca-Cola in equal parts. It's a great way to put any cheap wine you have laying around to good use. Legend says it was created in the Basque country of Spain when Coca-Cola was added in to disguise the taste of a batch of red wine that had gone sour. Regardless of the origin, it continues to be incredibly popular in Spain to this day.

A vintage cocktail brought back to life by New York's incredible Dante bar, the Garibaldi is currently experiencing a resurgence. The drink's two ingredients are Campari and orange juice, but they symbolize so much more than you would think. The cocktail was named after the unifier of Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi. Campari represents the north, and orange juice references the orange groves of southern Italy. The drink is a summer favorite, as it has a sweet, refreshing taste and is quite easy to drink for those with a lower tolerance. Use fresh-squeezed juice for an even sweeter, fruitier taste.

To make this simple mix, use half an ounce of St-Germain elderflower liqueur with 3½ ounces of Champagne. You can also use sparkling wine if you don't have any Champagne on hand; the drier, the better, in order to balance out the sweetness of the elderflower liqueur. The floral notes of the St-Germain Champagne cocktail make it a perfect daytime beverage and a wonderful drink to serve at your next brunch or lunch gathering. Think of it as a French-style, slightly more sophisticated mimosa.

Some people drink vermouth straight, but if you're drinking during the day or at mealtime, try this fabulous yet simple vermouth and soda combination. Vermouth has a spicy, woodsy, slightly bitter taste, thanks to the wormwood used to make it (vermouth comes from wermuth, German for "wormwood"). For an extra dimension of flavor, you may want to add an orange peel garnish. This cocktail is especially popular in Spain, so give yourself a taste of the Mediterranean at home by making a vermouth and soda cocktail, or rather, vermut con sifón.

This twist on the popular Kir Royale uses sloe gin instead of crème de cassis. What is sloe gin, you may wonder? Well, it's not that well-known, but that's a shame because it's actually uniquely flavorful. The sloe plant has quite sour, dark berries that cannot easily be eaten. However, someone stumbled onto the idea of using sugar and gin to smooth out the taste, and from there, sloe gin was born. A Sloe Royale combines sloe gin and sparkling wine in a champagne flute. 

Unlike the British "beertails" on this list, this classic beer cocktail hails from Mexico. The Chelada mixes Mexican lager, like Modelo or Corona, and lime juice together to create a cool, citrusy drink. If you want an extra tangy taste to the drink, add a salt rim to the glass. Cheladas are great for outdoor gatherings, as well as for accompanying food. Better yet, they can easily be batched to make quick and easy servings for big groups.