The cache of cocktails - the icy alchemy of tastes, sensations, the myriad of ingredients carefully blended to accentuate subtle flavors you might have never noticed in your favorite spirits. A cocktail is a symbol as much as a libation. It represents ease, sophistication, plus the potential that your night’s ending might be served with a bold twist—ok what we’re really alluding to is, wait for it, the Bold Standard. Now, as the year winds down, we present our toast to the cocktail, in all its spirited glory. In a fittingly boozy celebration, we’ve shaken together a stirring list of the hottest, though best served cold concoctions designed to massage the minds of 2025’s most discerning connaisseurs. Long after chai latte martinis, pumpkin spice espresso martinis, and whatever other liquid slog has thankfully faded from collective taste buds, these will remain the drinks worth remembering. Or not, depending on how many you down. So out with the old, in with the Bold.

Refreshingly cool on a summer’s day, savory, but packed with enough feist for the kick you need to get through winter. Distinctive, daring, and iconic—that’s the Moscow mule, and that’s what the Bold Standard is defined by. Cold ice, as opposed to hot ice, ginger beer’s intoxicating complexity, vodka’s smooth-going-down intoxication with an undeniable flash of lime. Sub in bourbon for a Kentucky mule, or Mezcal and some pineapple juice for a Mexican mule. The Moscow mule is balanced, suave and, with the Bold kick of some extra spice, a staple in discerning home bars and watering holes everywhere.

We know, the words hot and martini ought to be antonyms, after all, America’s best known cocktail created in 1911 should never be served any way but hypothermically cold. However, the classic combination of gin, or vodka and dry vermouth is surging with a generation known for canned seltzers with strange colors and even stranger names. The craving combo of caesar salad, fries, and a dirty martini might play a role here. The popular 50/50 or extra wet martini, with equal parts gin and vermouth, may also have a hand in this, but none of this would matter if the martini weren’t the potable it were, we mean was, we mean grammar isn’t our thing, polos are what we do.

Let’s face it, booze, hooch, or sauce, alcohol isn’t for everyone. Some of us cannot tolerate it, while some of us tolerate it way too much. That’s why Mocktails are becoming increasingly popular amongst revelers and partygoers. Simply put, Mocktails deliver all the taste variety and flavor satisfaction without the headache, or the aftereffects of CH 3CH 2OH. That’s alcohol for those unversed in chemistry. Here are a few options that won’t get you in hot water with the authorities.

So there you have it, enough cocktail ideas to quench, satiate, thrill, and impress each and every thirst-inducing opportunity. Hey, tastes change, when it comes to cocktails, one might say they’re even fluid. The aforementioned list of libations is a great way to lubricate the old taste buds and get the conversation and party flowing. Remember, always drink responsibly and if you drink, don’t get behind the wheel unless it’s that Big Wheel you had when you were nine. In the meantime, cheers, bottoms up, nostrovia, santé, l’chaim, cin cin, enjoy!